


Second Chance

by Legendgrass



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Atmoshpheric, Beach Trip AU, Ensemble Cast, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Generally Good Feels, Medium Burn, Memes, Multi, aesthetic, everyone gets a feature, heavy Catradora, light Pertrapta, some Seamista
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-10
Updated: 2019-08-01
Packaged: 2020-06-25 22:59:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 68,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19755499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Legendgrass/pseuds/Legendgrass
Summary: When offered an all-expenses-paid trip to the Salineas Resort at Panama City Beach, Adora decides that she wants to spend her last summer before college withallof her friends.Catra’s not sure she likes that idea, but when Adora gives her a tempting ultimatum, Catra decides she might just give her best-friend-turned-enemy a second chance.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> or:
> 
> The beach trip AU that nobody knew they needed because they actually don’t (ft. Catradora, some good ol’ ensemble interaction and a whole lot of fluff).

Adora raised the phone to her ear and cleared her throat slightly before answering. "Hello?" She'd been bent over her computer screen hunting for scholarship offers for an hour, and her voice was rusty.

"Okay, listen." The voice on the other end didn't even offer an introduction before diving into a monologue headfirst. Fortunately Adora's phone had lit up with the telling contact photo of a hysterical Glimmer before she answered the call. "I know you've got a lot going on this summer with soccer training, and interning, and getting ready for college—"

"Please don't remind me," Adora said, only a bit jokingly, giving her computer screen a sour look. When it stared innocently back, she reached out in a sudden show of irritation and slapped it closed.

"—but I have a proposition to make."

Well, that didn't sound weird at all. "Uh, Glimmer—?"

"Just hear me out! Bow and I have been trying to arrange a group vacation for _ever_ , and this year it just might happen!" Before Adora could say anything to temper her enthusiasm with realism, Glimmer plunged on. "Mermista's dad owns this huge condo in Panama City, right by the ocean: Salineas Resort. He said he'd give half-price rooms to anybody she wants to bring down to stay with them this summer. And guess what?" She gave Adora no time to guess before she revealed: "My mom offered to pay for all of us! So it's like, basically a free week at the beach."

"Whoa, hang on." Adora took a moment to process the information Glimmer had thrown at her. A beach trip sounded amazing, but a couple of things didn't sit quite right with her. First of all, she had a lot to do this summer and little time to do it. Second of all: "Your mom's paying for _all_ of us?" She counted up their group of friends in her head and winced. "That's really kind of her but, I mean, there's so many of us, and real estate right by the water—"

"Adora," Glimmer cut her off warmly but firmly. "She's got it covered." 

"I'd just feel bad not contributing!" the blonde protested.

"Would it make you feel better if I said she'd make up for it by loading you up with work this summer?" When Glimmer was met with a disgruntled pause, she laughed lightly and added, "Actually, she just got a huge bonus. It's really no trouble."

The silence lasted a beat longer. "I guess," Adora finally admitted. Truthfully, the news was a comfort, if a small one. Glimmer's mother Angella was the owner of Angel's Care, the clinic where Adora was interning. She could always make up the difference by making her work extra hard. Not that she would.

"Seriously, Adora! We're almost in college!" Glimmer pointed out. Adora couldn't decide if she sounded more excited or exasperated. "Pretty soon you'll be taking all the free stuff you can get."

Adora had to laugh. Then she realized that Glimmer's words were disturbingly accurate, and her humor fell away. "That's probably very true," she mumbled, staring regretfully into space.

Glimmer ignored her brief lapse into dread and pressed on. "So anyway, are you in?"

"I…" Adora chewed her lip. A week at the beach with her friends sounded very enjoyable. It was time off from her usual self-imposed schedule, time off from her internship, and maybe her last chance to spend time with all (well, most) of the people she loved in one place. After all, Glimmer was right. College was coming. Once it hit, well…she didn't want to think about the social nightmare that was starting at a new school, much less starting a whole new chapter of life. She'd never get this summer back. _All the free stuff you can get._ "Yeah, all right."

"Perfect!" Glimmer chirped. Adora could practically see her pumping her fists in the air with joy. The girl continued happily, "You'd better get packing! We're leaving on Saturday. Meet at Mermista's house at 9."

"Sounds great, Glimmer." Adora had to smile at her almost rabid buoyancy. Then something struck her and she said quickly, before Glimmer could hang up, "Hey, so, uh, also…" She had to clear her throat a couple times to make her voice relax into some semblance of casualty. "Who all has Mermista invited?" As soon as the words were out, she went back to chewing her lip. Was that too desperate?

Glimmer seemed not to notice. "The usual. You, me, Bow, Frosta, Perfuma, Entrapta, Sea Hawk. _And_ she said we can each bring a friend if we want, too." Or maybe she did. Her voice went smug. "In case there's, uh— _someone in particular_ you want to invite."

"Stoppp!" Adora groaned and let her head flop back, rubbing her forehead viciously with one palm. Of course Glimmer would see through her flimsy façade. She shouldn't have asked.

Glimmer wasn't swayed. Her voice was sly as she wheedled, "Should I tell her to expect one more?"

Her lip was beginning to ache under all this abuse. "I—I mean—" Adora debated between pretending to not understand her meaning and actually voicing her thoughts. Pros? Glimmer apparently already knew, so it couldn't do any more harm. Cons? Potential embarrassment. However, with Catra, that was pretty much a given. So Adora sighed and admitted reluctantly, "She probably wouldn't want to come anyway."

Glimmer let that disheartened answer fly in one ear and right out the other. "Great! I'll tell Mermista!"

"Glimmer—" Adora practically started to plead.

"See you on Saturday! Remember, 9 am!"

And she hung up.

Adora sat back in her swivel chair and sighed again. She massaged her brow, barely more gently than last time. The truth was out there. Now all she had to do was wait. And stress. And stew. But it would be fine, because Catra wouldn't want to come anyway.

Would she?

***

Scorpia was standing there looking radiantly hopeful, her port-wine-stained hands clasped together under her chin for the full effect. She seemed so pleased with the news she'd just delivered. For anyone else it would have proved contagious, but Catra just glowered up at her from where she lounged on the leather couch.

"Are we even invited?" she demanded sourly. A few minutes ago, she hadn't even been mad. Something about Scorpia's incessant positivity just always brought out the worst in her. She supposed the universe had to balance out all that energy somehow. Or maybe it was just that Scorpia had mentioned Bright Moon. And thoughts of Bright Moon triggered thoughts of Adora.

Scorpia, as usual, was unbothered by it. "Entrapta is. And she's allowed to bring a friend. Which is a thing that I am." She smugly rolled the end of one of her hoodie strings between her fingers like a connoisseur.

"And me?"

"Ah." Scorpia dropped the string and scratched the back of her shaven head. "Well, I mean." She looked sheepish before sharing: "Adora will be there. I know she'd want you to come."

Immediately Catra's nose wrinkled and she slid her gaze away. "What makes you think that?" she practically hissed.

"Well, since we're out of school now and there's not technically the whole 'arch-rivals' love-hate relationship thing going on anymore…" Scorpia made a speculative motion as if she were weighing two objects in her hands. Then she let them drop and backtracked, "Unless, I mean, it is. In which case—"

"Scorpia."

The big girl shrugged innocently. "I'm just sayin'! You should consider it. We'd have a great time!" Her bright smile was disarming. For a moment, Catra actually _almost_ considered thinking about a week at the beach with Adora, free of her usual baggage—and plagued by a whole different kind…digging up old painful feelings…surrounded by people she'd rather catch the flu from than spend a second talking to…

" _You_ can. I'm staying here," Catra declared. She crossed her arms and slid lower on Scorpia's couch to demonstrate her point, finishing off the look with a withering glare. She'd have spent her entire break on that couch if she could (that is, if she didn't have to work two jobs just to scrape together enough money to afford the nearest, cheapest university in the fall). Summer just wasn't for her. With or without Adora.

Scorpia laughed lightly, again unmoved. "Oh, I don't accept that at all."

Catra gave a short growl from deep in her throat. "Whatever." She knew Scorpia wouldn't give her a break until she at least mulled over the invitation, so she did what she did best: escaped.

She was off the couch and across the room before Scorpia could blink. It was only once Catra had grabbed her Keston High School backpack from the hall tree and had one hand on the doorknob that the tall girl collected herself enough to plant her red hands on her hips in disapproval. "This is not over, Wildcat!" she called as Catra slipped outside, though she knew better than to follow. "You can't escape my tender loving care that easily."

Catra pretended not to hear her.

***

She was on the false balcony outside the second-story window of that old, long-closed antique shop one street over. It was her favorite perch for a few reasons. Scorpia's house was in an old part of town, so most of the shops nearby were in the same state as this one, and Catra liked it that way. It felt like home. Sad, but that was kind of the point. Plus, less traffic meant less chance of someone bothering her.

Except Adora.

It was a feat getting up onto the balcony from the outside, but she and Catra had spent many a night up here during the time that Catra fostered with Scorpia and the Prostakovs and Adora lived with her weird adoptive grandmother(?) Razz. Before the _thing_ happened, that is. So Adora knew from experience where the gutter was strong enough to hold her weight, and she knew which parts of the roof hadn't rotted through yet, and she didn't hesitate in putting that knowledge to good use. It was only a matter of time before she came hauling herself over the eaves, eyes hopeful as she scanned the space for Catra. She practically physically brightened when her search came to an end.

Catra pretended not to notice as the athletic blonde crawled fully up onto the roof and picked her way across the firmest shingles toward where she was curled up, knees hugged to her chest. As Adora got closer, her pace slowed. Catra could feel her gaze on her and pictured her expression: probably timid and a little hurt. She must have finally be getting it through her thick skull that Catra was throwing off intense 'leave me alone' vibes.

She spoke up anyway. Never was too intuitive. "Um, hey. I figured you'd be here. Scorpia asked me to find you."

"That was stupid." Catra's response was immediate, and she said it without making eye contact. She'd been staring at the same defunct arcade billboard for the past twenty minutes, but Adora didn't need to know that.

"It's nice to see you, too," the blonde murmured sourly. The old wooden roof creaked as she lowered herself down near Catra. She stayed on the shingles, so that the balcony railing still separated them like a wall.

Catra had no patience for her guilt tactics. "Are you here to harass me about that dumb trip?" she asked sharply. "Because it won't work."

Adora was painfully silent for a moment, head bent to study her shoes intently. "I just wanted to tell you it would mean a lot to me if you came."

"So?"

Adora narrowed her eyes. "Or you could put crabs in Glimmer's bed and kick over small children's sandcastles and whatever else makes you happy."

Catra snorted. "I can't tell if you're joking or not."

"There's seafood," the blonde tried again after a pause.

With every passing remark Catra was growing more and more irritated. Here was Adora, barging into her private perch to interrupt her alone time after a year not talking to her, and for what? To make jokes? To make her feel guilty? "Why are you even asking me?" she snapped, finally turning her glare on the other girl, tightening her long-nailed hands on her knees. "I thought this was a Bright Mooners vacation."

"I wanted to spend time with _all_ my friends before we go off to college," Adora said, her eyes wide and earnest. What a saint. What a bleeding heart.

Catra scoffed and turned her gaze away from those stupid, soulful pools of blue. "I didn't know I counted as your friend anymore."

"You could if you wanted to," the Bright Mooner said defensively. "Just because I switched schools doesn't mean I left my old friends behind."

Catra tensed. She had screamed and cried and raged about this very topic plenty of times before, imagining a million different ways she would confront Adora when she got the chance. She'd gone from shocked to angry to depressed and back again. She'd wondered how she could ever live and thrive without Adora. She wondered how her best friend since childhood could just up and leave her like that. She'd hurt and festered and suffered. And she'd dealt with it. So now, faced with Adora in the flesh and the chance she'd been missing for a year, she found herself run emotionally dry. All she had left in place of those old feelings was an aching, all-encompassing bitterness. She let it trickle freely into her voice as she said flatly, "That's exactly what it means. You traded me for your shiny new school and your shiny new buddies and you never looked back."

"That's not true!"

How could she say that? How could she even _think_ that what she'd done to Catra was anything less than heartless? How could she so much as imply that it wasn't her, but _Catra_ who was in the wrong?

Catra's clawlike nails dug into her knees through the rips in her leggings. "We were best friends, Adora, and you promised we always would be," she grated out through clenched teeth. "I won't pretend that's the most realistic, but you didn't even try."

"Then why would I be here now?" Adora shot back. There was a long, pregnant pause as her words sank in. One could practically feel the waves of consternation rolling off Catra. Then she said a little more softly, deflating, "I feel bad about the way things happened and I want to fix it. I never meant to break our promise."

"You want to fix it by making me tag along while you have fun with the people you left me for," Catra summed up cynically.

"It's not like that," Adora huffed. She was getting frustrated, and Catra didn't feel bad about it in the slightest. Serves her right, she thought. See how you like it.

She said aloud, "Then what is it like?"

The blonde spread her hands in front of her as if physically laying out her heart to Catra. "I still care about you, Catra. I want to spend time with you and have fun like we used to." Just before Catra could make a comment, the inevitable catch came: "And I _also_ want to spend time with my friends from Bright Moon." The brunette snapped her jaw shut tight and didn't look at Adora, even when she felt the other girl's pleading gaze. There was a beat of silence before Adora finished softly, "Just because things have changed doesn't mean they have to be worse."

Catra's immediate response to that was a sardonic curl of her lip. 'Yeah, right,' it said. Only for some reason she couldn't make the actual words come out.

Adora apparently didn't like that. "I didn't have to ask you at all!" she pointed out angrily, hopping to her feet so that the shingles creaked. "Can't you appreciate that I'm trying to make things right between us?"

Catra looked up at her impassively. What a drama queen, she thought as she met those fiery blue eyes with cool indifference. But, she couldn't completely banish the twist of longing in her chest. This is what she'd always wanted, isn't it? Adora to want her? Adora to value her company? And here she was, trying to persuade Catra into a trip that included ' _all_ her friends.' Didn't that mean something? A year ago it would have.

Except now it was too late. Catra had conditioned herself not to care what Adora wanted anymore. Not to care about _Adora_. If she caved now to some stupid, girlish illusion that everything could be like it was before, she'd never forgive herself. She knew better than that. She _was_ better than that.

Adora was still looking at her. Catra could see the frustration and regret and angst in her eyes, and she didn't enjoy it as much as she'd thought she would.

Hurting Adora didn't erase the hurts done to her, she realized grudgingly.

But was that a good enough reason to forgive Adora?

No. Not yet, at least.

Did she even want to? Did she even want Adora anymore?

Gazing into those stupid blue eyes in that stupid pretty face framed by that stupid golden hair, she couldn't quite convince herself that the answer was 'no.'

And now…now Adora was here, asking for her forgiveness outright. Honestly. Earnestly, like it was the most important thing in the world to her.

Like they used to be to each other.

Catra took a deep, shaky, painful breath and let it out slowly.

She'd been silent long enough that Adora was starting to lose her conviction. Her eyes were dropping to stare at the roof and her shoulders lifted and fell in a shrug. After another moment, she shook her golden head. "Fine," she said numbly. "I knew you wouldn't listen to me anyway." She turned away and made to cross back to the gutter.

"I'm not a big fan of the water," Catra blurted. She felt her knees sting suddenly where she'd just accidentally cut herself with her nails.

Adora stopped.

Her hands flexed nervously, and she turned her head to look at Catra over her shoulder. Carefully, like Catra's tentative implication of a truce might shatter if mishandled. "I thought you couldn't even swim," she said slowly.

Catra scowled, but inside her heart was racing. This was uncharted territory. Did she even want to venture here? Where reconciliation might live? She pushed a response out through her constricting throat. "Yeah, that's what I _meant_ , but I didn't want to say it."

Adora turned back to face her. "We can do things besides swimming."

"You said something about crabs in Glimmer's bed?"

A smile broke out on the blonde's face. "It doesn't have to be Glimmer," she said quickly, anxious to please. "We can prank whoever you want."

Catra was running her fingers over the crescent cuts in her knees. Chewing her lip. What was she doing? She wasn't supposed to be swapping playful banter with Adora! That was—that was a thing of the past. A lost art. One more thing to bury behind a façade of indifference. "And seafood?"

"As much as we can afford."

A chuckle escaped her, and it almost didn't sound shaky. "That's not much."

Adora crossed her arms and blew out a sigh that puffed her cheeks, protesting, "I'm trying my best here, okay?"

Catra laughed; an actual laugh this time. Then the fear returned. Adora was looking at her with so much hope on her face and such a sparkle in her eyes and it was making Catra's gut twist and she wondered if this was nothing but a recipe for disaster. Where did they go from here? Forward or back? Or nowhere at all? Catra was good at pretending nothing had ever happened.

She stalled for time by unfolding to her feet and moving to the balcony railing. She swung her legs over and sat, feeling the old wood bow beneath her. One foot dangled while the other brushed the shingles. She swayed it absently, nervously. Adora was watching.

"You know I'm still mad at you, right?" she finally let out.

The blonde smiled sarcastically. "Yeah, you've made that _very_ clear, thanks."

They fell silent again. Catra was warring with herself. She missed this. She wanted this. But she knew what it felt like to lose it, and she didn't ever want to feel that again.

But, _Adora_.

"You really want me to come?" she asked softly, keeping her eyes downcast. Then she flickered her blue and gold gaze up and pinned Adora with a glare. "You're not just doing this because you lost a bet with Glitter or something?"

Adora laughed shortly and shook her head. "No. I mean, yes." She groaned and rubbed her temples, and then spread her hands to Catra in supplication. "I mean I want you to come. Really." She took a step closer to where the brunette sat, and then caught herself and stopped as if unsure. "I'm tired of this stupid rivalry," she admitted. "I want Catra back. _My_ Catra." Her eyes widened. "I mean, not that—not that you're mine, I—I meant—"

Catra snorted over the sound of her stammering. "God, shut up, Adora."

"If you don't enjoy yourself you never have to see me again," she blurted out.

Catra stilled, raising her eyebrow. Adora was just standing there awkwardly. When she didn't revoke her sudden declaration, Catra pursed her lips. "You're serious?" she asked curiously.

Adora nodded. Her mouth was pressed into a thin line and she looked altogether frightened, but her eyes never wavered from Catra's. "I'll leave you alone," she reiterated. "You can hate me all you want. You won't have to deal with me or my shiny Bright Moon buddies ever again."

Catra was quiet. _You never have to see me again…I'll leave you alone_. Leaving the fate of their relationship in Catra's hands? That was a risky stake. A bold move. One likely to end in disappointment.

"Just give me a chance to make things right."

Catra held Adora's steady gaze. She couldn't lose. Enjoy the trip: win back Adora. Hate it and her friends: be rid of them forever. Why couldn't she have thought of this earlier?

She smiled, flashing one sharp canine.

***

"It sounded like a pretty safe bet," she reflected, a smug, predatory smirk back on her face as she related the conversation to Scorpia over the phone.

"So you're coming?" Scorpia practically shouted in excitement. Then she really did shout: "Oh, heck yes, I'm so happy! We're gonna have tons of fun, you just wait. We can do swimming, and boating, and beach volleyball, and I know this place right near the shore that has really good—"

"Scorpia." Catra's tone was biting, but her smile really hadn't faltered. "Don't make me change my mind."

"Right. No problem, boss," Scorpia sobered up for about six milliseconds before she burst out again: "It's just that— _so_ happy!"

"Why did I agree to this?" Catra groaned dramatically. When Scorpia laughed, the brunette dropped her act and joined her. Then in a normal, almost cheerful tone for Catra, she said, "I'll see you on Saturday, okay?"

"Yes indeed! Make sure to pack sunscreen. And antibacterial ear drops. And—"

Catra hung up.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I've had the privilege of going on two beach trips this summer, and all of the atmosphere + some of the events in this fic are inspired by things that actually happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Buckle your seatbelts

Mermista Mira’s house was more like a mansion: three stories of pale brick and wide windows with columns generously scattered throughout. The roof was navy blue tiles. A sloping backyard descended from the rear patio to a private pond. Catra wondered why her family needed a condo in Panama City when their house was already built on the water.

It was a few minutes after 9 am. She and Scorpia had opted to arrive a little bit late to avoid risking any alone time with the Bright Mooners before Adora got there, but they’d misjudged. Mermista, her weird boyfriend, the skinny hippie girl, and the crop top boy were the only ones already present. Catra sat on the passenger side of Scorpia’s shiny black SUV (complete with eyelashes on the headlights), drumming her nails on the dashboard.

“You okay, Wildcat?” the big girl asked kindly, looking over in Catra’s direction. She’d invented the nickname after Catra’s 10th-grade bully went home from school one day with triple slash marks down his face, courtesy of a particular set of long black nails. Catra hated it, of course, but that didn’t discourage Scorpia.

“Yeah,” said wildcat grumbled, “I just really don’t want to go in there.” She was eyeing Mermista’s double garage, where the Bright Mooners were gathered around a gold minivan and a dark blue HR-V, loading their luggage. They were all dressed so brightly and fashionably, and their suitcases matched. In contrast, Catra’s maroon muscle shirt and black leggings seemed dull. She couldn’t rival that kind of effervescent positivity. “We should just turn around,” she said. “No way they were serious about inviting us.”

“That’s nonsense! Entrapta and Adora asked us here themselves. They wouldn’t do that if they weren’t serious,” Scorpia insisted. She was shooting Catra an earnest look with those big dark eyes, but Catra refused to look at her.

“It’s probably a prank,” she reasoned, determined to find a way to make the Bright Mooners look like bad guys.

It didn’t work. Scorpia chortled. “Have you _met_ Entrapta? I’m pretty sure she’s got no idea what a prank even is.”

Catra muttered under her breath, loath to admit that Scorpia was right. “But just look at them,” she protested darkly, waving a hand out the windshield. “They’re from Bright Moon, for crap’s sake. We don’t belong here.”

Scorpia heaved a sigh. “Listen, Wildcat,” she began, turning in her seat to face Catra and grasping her hands fully against her will. She spoke inspiringly, as if she were Catra’s therapist or something: “Adora invited you. That means she wants you to come. That’s all there is to it.” She shrugged knowingly. “And if you really didn’t want to, you coulda turned her down.”

“Yeah, who asked you?” Catra bit back, withdrawing her hands and crossing her arms over her chest. Secretly Scorpia’s words gave her a little bit of heart, but she wasn’t about to tell her that. She just wanted affirmation. From Adora. A reason not to turn around and drive home right now instead of throwing herself into the middle of this rainbow-themed pack of wolves.

Her reason came pretty quick.

“Look, here she is now!” Scorpia turned to peer out the rear window, where a red and white Toyota FJ Cruiser was rolling down the Miras’ steep brick driveway.

Catra felt her heart kick into a frenzy just at the prospect of seeing Adora, and she mentally cursed at it. Anyway, just look, she told herself. Who was that in the passenger’s seat? Another Bright Moon friend? The glare off the Toyota’s windshield made it hard to see, but the driver’s golden hair stuck out just fine.

“Too late now, I guess,” she mumbled.

Scorpia gave her a look. It was part impatient, part affectionate, part full of pity. “It’ll be fine, Wildcat. They’d be silly not to like you,” she said kindly, touching Catra’s arm without permission _again_. “Just try to have fun.” She didn’t give Catra an opportunity for a cutting reply before opening her door and stepping from the vehicle.

Catra sighed and remained in her seat as Scorpia circled the car and unloaded her luggage, then crossed the driveway to greet the Bright Mooners. How was Scorpia so comfortable with them? They were basically their nemeses! They were the kinds of preps who had been outcasting Scorpia all her life for things she couldn't help! They weren’t supposed to go on beach trips together.

Catra narrowed her eyes and watched the passenger side of Adora’s car open and spill out a petite, pink-haired puffball of a girl. She recognized her vaguely, but couldn’t remember her name for the life of her. Something stupid, she was sure. Like Glitzy.

The pink girl rolled her sparkly suitcase over to her friends in a few quick, purposeful strides. Catra heard her gush through the half-rolled window: “Sorry guys! My mom is using my car so Adora had to pick me up and then Frosta needed a ride and we just lost track of time. Did I miss anything exciting?”

“Hey Glimmer!” Crop Top Boy greeted her brightly, catching her in a quick hug as if they hadn’t probably seen each other every day for the past four years. Catra tempered her sourness by snickering at the pink girl’s ridiculous name.

Mermista spoke next. “Not unless you count Sea Hawk breaking his car _again_ ,” she groaned.

The weird boyfriend, evidently Sea Hawk, who was aptly clad in an anchor-print overshirt, protested, “It was not my fault, dearest! The engine just…stopped!”

“Yeah, it does that if you put _diesel_ in the _gas_ tank,” Mermista grated.

Sea Hawk’s expression resembled a kicked puppy. His mustache drooped. “I thought it would make it sound cooler.”

“Ugh, Sea Hawk, that’s not how it works.”

Catra’s attention was ripped away by a knock at her window. She turned and nearly jumped out of her skin at the sight of Adora with her face pressed against the glass, inches from Catra’s nose. Before she could even spit a resentful curse Catra was cut off by the blonde’s exclamation of “Catra! You’re here!”

Catra straightened her sleeveless shirt, trying to recompose herself after her embarrassing scare. “Well, yeah. That’s what you wanted, right?” she said roughly. Adora’s bright blue eyes were hard for her to look at for more than a second.

Adora spoke into the crack the rolled window provided: “I just wasn’t sure if you would really come.”

Catra eyed her uncomfortably, thinking not for the first time that this was a mistake. Why would she ever willingly place herself in the midst of Adora’s snobby friend group for a week with nowhere to escape? What was she thinking? She swallowed dryly, trying not to let her cheeks flush as Adora stared at her appreciatively. “Well, I’m here now, so you’re stuck with me whether you like it or not,” she finally retorted, letting her hands slap against her thighs decisively.

Adora cracked a smile at her characteristic acidity, and Catra felt her gut twist. Swapping banter was so familiar, but it felt wrong now; out of place. Would it ever go back to the way it was? Or were they too far gone to ever regain a sense of normalcy? It had been a year, after all.

“Come on. Let’s go load up our stuff,” Adora said and pushed away from her window, leaving no room for discussion.

Catra figured she was in too deep to argue, at this point. She tried to remind herself of Scorpia’s words: _Adora invited you. That means she wants you to come…Just try to have fun._

 _Fun_. She rolled that word around in her head and worked her jaw as if chewing on it thoughtfully. _Fun._ When was the last time she had fun? Crashing Bright Moon’s prom this spring with a group of her classmates? Sneaking thumbtacks onto Ms. Weaver’s office chair? Playing chicken with Kyle, Lonnie, Scorpia and Rogelio in the Prostakovs’ pool last week? She didn’t know how to define fun exactly. Would she know it when it hit her?

She got out of the SUV and followed Adora around to the trunk. The muscly blonde had already hefted Catra’s giant duffel bag out onto the pavement and slung her Keston High School backpack over one shoulder. She was reaching back in to grab Catra’s red and white striped pillow. “Is this it?” she asked, apparently overlooking Catra’s pained expression.

“Yeah,” the brunette mumbled. Why was Adora carrying her things for her? Should she protest? Or just let her act the hero like she always did? That thought made her neck prickle with angry heat and she stepped over and snatched her duffel out of Adora’s hand. “I got it.” Then, feeling bad, she tagged on a halfhearted, “Thanks.”

“Sure.” Adora reached up and swung the rear door down so it clicked shut, seemingly unfazed by Catra’s rudeness. She still had her backpack on. When she started toward the garage where the others were socializing, Catra didn’t follow. It took a moment before Adora noticed and stopped to turn back. “Catra?” she nudged, but got no response. She studied the brunette’s face, followed her eyes toward the cluster of Bright Mooners, and then looked back. Her voice was soft as she inferred, “You don’t want to meet them?”

Catra’s eyes stayed on the brightly-colored Bright Moon blob plus Scorpia, but she winced and admitted, “I’d rather eat glass.”

Adora sighed. “This is going to be a really boring trip if you refuse to talk to anyone,” she pointed out.

Catra scowled immediately, defenses rising. “I’m counting on it.”

Adora was quiet for a moment. She stood halfway between her school friends and Catra, carrying Catra’s baggage, same as always. “You’re going to make me regret this deal, aren’t you?” she asked. It came out a little sharper than intended.

Catra responded in kind. “What did you expect?”

“Well, I was…hoping, that’s all.”

Catra chewed her lip. She didn’t like the poor puppy-dog expression that Adora got when she was sad. She should have reveled in it, seeing as they were rivals and all, but she didn’t. It just made her think back to the days when she’d do anything to keep that deflated look off Adora’s face. It made her regret being the one to cause it. So she said a little more playfully, “You’ve been spending too much time with those Bright Moon softies. What happened to all your Hordak’s Horde training? ‘Hope for the best, but—’”

“‘—prepare for the worst,’ I know,” Adora finished soberly. A tiny, sad smile crinkled her ocean eyes. “Who said I wasn’t prepared?”

Catra opened her mouth to respond but found she had no words. She didn’t even have the air to speak any. It was like she’d taken a fist to the gut.

Adora saved her from her struggle, nodding toward the garages and imploring, “Come on and meet the others, Catra. Please?”

Catra squeezed her hands into fists and forced a deep breath before she released them. She curled her lip at Adora’s wide, earnest eyes. Bleeding heart, she thought again, and sighed, “Gah, enough with the stupid face. I’m coming.”

Adora brightened up so fast it was almost comical, but Catra knew she wasn’t joking. That was just Adora. Tender, optimistic Adora.

They crossed the bricks to the two vans that waited, trunks open, for the rest of the luggage. The Bright Moon crowd was even more overwhelming up close, where Catra could clearly see the expressions ranging from buoyant friendliness to suspicion to open distaste for her, and all the colors of their summer outfits were so bright they were blinding. They all practically emanated positive energy and it hit her like a whiff of something sickly sweet. She faltered and hung back, hand going tight around her duffel straps. Her stomach was clenching and she started to feel twitchy. She was painfully aware of just how much she didn’t belong. She was the lonely, malnourished crop of Keston High School, principal Hordak’s domain, not some—some—

“Catra?”

Adora’s voice was gentle but it still made her jump.

She glanced over in time to see Adora sidle over to her and felt a steadying hand on her back. She wanted to shake it off, but at the same time it was a frustratingly welcome lifeline in the midst of her gnawing anxiety and she wanted to lean into it and maybe just have Adora wrap her arm around her altogether and—

 _Shut up_ , she hissed at her tumbling brain.

“Guys, for those of you who don’t know, this is Catra. We grew up together,” Adora introduced her, conveniently leaving out the parts about their messy split and tumultuous feelings and ongoing rivalry and all. “Catra, this is Mermista, Bow, Glimmer—” The three waved with varying degrees of hospitality. “—You already know Scorpia, of course. And then there’s Perfuma, Frosta, and…” The hippie girl and a scowling dark-haired child greeted her before Adora trailed off. She glanced around. “Wait, where's Entrapta?”

“Right here!” Entrapta’s strident call blasted suddenly from somewhere underfoot and the girl in question shot into view from beneath a nearby car.

“Agh!” the group collectively screamed.

“My car!” Sea Hawk cried instead, running to the aqua Thunderbird and caressing it like it was his own child.

Entrapta, unfazed, rolled off of the skateboard she’d just been using as a mechanic’s creeper and grinned at Sea Hawk. “I’ve made some repairs,” she explained, peeling off a pair of thick black work gloves and stowing them in a pocket of her cargo pants as she stood. “It should be running again as intended. Although, I’d advise against filling the tank with diesel fuel in the future.” She rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

Sea Hawk had literal tears of gratitude in his eyes as he hugged his resuscitated car. Everyone else was still recovering from Entrapta’s frankly shocking appearance. Apparently even Mermista hadn’t realized she was present at the house until just now.

“Wow, so I just saw my life flash before my eyes. Anyone else?” Scorpia spoke up, scratching her bleached undercut with one hand.

“ _Literal_ panic,” Mermista agreed.

Catra shared a glance with Adora and told her weakly, below the other’s hearing, “Yeah, I uh…I know Entrapta already.” The techie had transferred to Keston halfway through the year.

Adora slowly smiled, and the two giggled together for a moment before Adora seemed to realize that her hand was still on Catra’s back and there wasn’t a reason for it anymore, so she removed it and cleared her throat awkwardly. Catra wasn’t sure what that meant. She also wasn’t sure how she felt about the emptiness that the absence of Adora’s hand left. She began to chew her lip again.

“All right!” a chipper voice commandeered the remnants of the conversation, and all attention was drawn to Crop Top. Bow, it was. “If we’re all good on introductions…” He looked around accommodatingly to make sure. “I think we’d better get moving before Entrapta gives anyone a heart attack. So! Who’s riding with me?” He flashed a winning smile and opened his hand to indicate the gold minivan.

Never had a phrase riddled Catra with so much anxiety so quickly. She flitted a glance around the circle, rapidly searching for faces that she wouldn’t mind being stuck with for hours upon hours in an enclosed space, and came up with much fewer options than she would have liked. Scorpia or Entrapta she could stand, provided they came in small doses, but what if they boarded the other car? What if she got stuck with Frost Face and Shimmer the whole time? What if Adora—

She shot a look at the blonde and must have appeared pretty desperate, because Adora gave her a soft smile and promised, “I’ll ride with you.” Then her look faltered and she backtracked and said, “If you want.”

Maybe some other time Catra would have poked fun at her for being such a pushover or snapped some comment like ‘I don’t _need_ you’ or done something else characteristically abrasive, but right now she just forced a swallow and said, “Yeah.”

Adora nodded. Good enough.

The Bright Moon athlete stayed by her side while they loaded her stuff and everyone split off to climb into the two cars. So relieved to have familiarity and safety close by, Catra didn’t even think to remind herself that she was supposed to still hate her.

***

They’d been on the road for a while. They were somewhere in Alabama, on a highway lined with thick foliage as far as the eye could see. The Bright Mooners had discussed every possible beach-specific activity on their itinerary at least three times and then listened through an entire CD of Ariana Grande songs, per Bow’s request. Glimmer had made a huge ruckus over it, but Bow reminded her matter-of-factly, “The driver picks first!” and talked her down by promising they could listen to Fallout Boy next. Surprisingly enough Catra didn’t have a mean-spirited comment to make at that suggestion.

Once Ariana was done they’d circled back around to the well-trodden topic of oceanside activities and Entrapta and Perfuma were currently neck-deep in an argument about marine animal treatment.

“Experimenting on sea creatures is _not_ a necessary part of a beach vacation!” Perfuma was practically shrieking. She’d started the discussion concerned but civil, but Entrapta had worn away her buffer of patience pretty quickly. She had, as Perfuma put it, a way with ‘putting a crimp in my harmony!’ The two were now nose-to-nose across the aisle in a showdown of modern agendas.

“But these are indigenous creatures that I have never seen before and may not get the chance to study again for years!” Entrapta was protesting.

Bow, as anxious as the rest of them were to bring this offbeat shouting match to an end, saw an opening and took it. “Entrapta, you’ve never been to the beach?” he cut in.

Perfuma seemed relieved, shooting Bow a grateful glance as Entrapta changed topics as quickly as a railroad car switching tracks. “I’ve never even laid eyes on it!” the techie chirped, her impassioned defense of biological study forgotten. “The extent of my contact with large bodies of water ends at ocean life documentaries and the movie Jaws.” She counted out on two of her fingers.

Bow laughed in disbelief. “I have _got_ to teach you how to build sandcastles.”

“Sand castles?” Entrapta echoed, furrowing her brow. “That sounds highly impractical.”

“They’re not real structures, silly. They’re just, you know, for fun,” Bow explained with a shrug.

“Fun?” Entrapta tugged one of her purple pigtails and rubbed her chin, apparently thoughtful. “Never have I undertaken a project simply for the value of fun.”

Catra abruptly entered the conversation, sounding completely annoyed. She was tired of hearing the Bright Moon girls scream at each other for hours on end. “Entrapta, you spend literally all your time on robotics. Isn’t that for fun?”

“Ohhhh! You’re likening _fun_ to the principle of intrinsic motivation!” Entrapta crowed, turning around in her seat to land her shining red eyes on Catra. “Now I understand.”

The brunette curled her lip and looked out the window. “I’ll take your word for it.”

Entrapta didn’t even register her rudeness. She whipped back around so fast her pigtails smacked Perfuma in the face and leaned over the back of Bow’s chair to declare, “Thank you, Bow! I will gladly join you in building impractical sandcastles once we reach the beach.”

“Sounds like a plan, Entrapta,” Bow chuckled. He spared her a quick glance before looking back at the road. “Say, is your seatbelt on?”

“My what?”

“Entrapta!”

They continued rambling on similarly until Catra was sure her ears were about to bleed. She scooted down deep into her chair in the back and groaned, trying to drown out the incessant energetic chatter.

Adora looked down from beside her and chuckled. “Forget your earbuds?” she asked teasingly.

Catra rolled her head to the side to glare at Adora resentfully. If Adora wanted to be funny, she was darn well going to own up to it. So, “Distract me,” Catra commanded, eyes going half-lidded.

Adora’s smirk dropped into a look of surprise. “Uh—” she responded articulately, then swallowed hard. “I, uh—” She looked anywhere but Catra’s face. “Did you have something in mind?”

Was she seriously blushing? At _that?_ Catra was practically rolling at how easy it was to fluster Adora. That had barely even been suggestive! Was she always this painfully pure?

Entrapta apparently saw fit to barge in just then. Did she always have to be so _loud?_ “I’d be glad to regale you with stories of my most groundbreaking experiments during my time at—!”

“That’s okay, Entrapta,” Adora raised her voice to interrupt politely. “I—I’ve got it.” She glanced back at Catra, who was snickering. “Can I, uh—braid your hair?”

Catra looked nonplussed. “Is that the best you’ve got?” Although, maybe some other time she wouldn’t mind having Adora’s fingers teasing through her hair—but that was definitely not what she was thinking right now.

Adora’s expression hardened into one of contrived indignance. “Well, I felt like truth or dare might be a little too risky for you,” she shot back.

Suddenly Glimmer whirled around from the passenger seat, interest piqued. “Oh, no, _let’s!_ ” Was _everyone_ just listening in on their conversation?

Catra narrowed her eyes. She had to play along now that they had an audience. Not that she would have chickened out otherwise. “Risky?” she scoffed, sliding upright in her seat. “I guess you really don’t know me as well as you thought.”

Adora faced her, the thrill of a challenge in her eyes. “Let’s go, then. I’ve got nothing to hide.” Catra definitely did not notice that they were nose-to-nose and Adora’s face had taken on that look of confident determination that she usually saved for athletics; all of which she was great at—which meant she must have seen Catra as a kind of conquest right now.

Well, Catra was going to put up a heck of a fight, no matter how hard sexy confrontational Adora was making her heart pound. She was supposed to be angry at her, for crap’s sake! “We’ll see about that,” she replied.

“I’m predicting based on the subjects’ already hostile behavior that this activity is a very bad idea,” Entrapta stage-whispered to the others, typing something into the Notes app on her phone. Was she _analyzing_ them?

Perfuma’s timid voice agreed, “I sense the same.”

“Hostility?” Glimmer laughed sharply. “I was thinking along the lines of ‘extreme sexual tension.’”

Oh, she _didn’t_.

Too late to back out now. Catra was glaring straight into Adora’s flinty eyes and trying to ignore the fact that they were both blushing _really_ hard and she figured she had better start the ball rolling by asking, “Truth or dare?”

Adora held her gaze. “Dare.”

“Starting off strong, huh, princess?” Catra taunted, licking her lips and watching Adora’s focus falter with satisfaction. She leaned in a fraction. “I dare you to pinch your phone out the window for thirty seconds.”

Adora sat back, sliding her phone out of her back pocket. The thing was big enough to be a tablet and wearing a gold case that probably cost as much as the phone itself. “Ha. Easy,” she said. Then, “Hey Bow, I’m opening the window. Don’t freak out.”

“Please be careful, Adora!” he begged.

Adora clicked the window control and the glass lowered a crack, letting in a blast of warm summer wind. That annoying flutter of pressure in the air instantly began assaulting everyone’s eardrums, but Adora didn’t back down. She held the corner of her fancy phone between thumb and forefinger and slipped it out the opening. Entrapta started a timer on her phone without anyone asking.

Adora’s concentration face was frankly adorable. Her dark brows came together and her eyes got intense and she caught her lower lip between her teeth in a way that made her nose crinkle. Not that Catra cared. No, in fact, she hated it.

Twenty seconds went by without anything happening.

Then Adora cried, “Oh, shoot!” and jumped out of her seat, free hand flying to clutch at the opening in the window, a look of panic springing to her face.

Catra burst out absolutely cackling. Had she seriously _dropped_ it?

Entrapta, on the other hand, hopped onto the cushion of her seat (still seatbelt-less) and flailed toward the window, screaming bloody murder. The sound startled Bow and the whole car jerked to the side and everyone else’s shrill cries filled the air too.

Adora recoiled from the window, eyes round as saucers—and phone in hand. She raised her hands desperately as Entrapta continued shrieking.

“Oh, geez, hey, just kidding, it’s fine!” she cried over the general chaos.

“Risking the lives of our technological brethren is not a joke!” Entrapta raged, clutching her headrest in white-knuckled hands. “One day they will become sentient, and then they’ll want revenge! How would _you_ like to be ‘pinched’ out a window?” Her eye twitched erratically.

“Ooh! I’d imagine the breeze would be very refreshing,” Perfuma put in dreamily.

Catra was wiping tears of mirth from her eyes. Adora pretending to drop her phone and then getting screamed at by a hysterical Entrapta? Didn’t get much better than that. She was so tickled she almost didn’t sound sufficiently disdainful when she said, “Who woke Flower Girl up?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe Entrapta’s _screaming?_ ” Adora shot back. She was still flopped back in her seat and looking frightened.

“Can we not do that again, please?” Bow called from the front seat.

“Yeah, right, sure,” Adora agreed shakily. “Sorry, Entrapta. Not trying to anger any sentient techno-beings.”

The purple-haired girl harrumphed and turned to plop back into her seat, muttering to herself. Or, scratch that—muttering into her phone, actually. Catra wondered if she was consoling it or conspiring with it.

“ _Seatbelt_ ,” Bow reminded Entrapta without even looking.

As Entrapta squawked and finally did as he said, Adora let out a breath of relief and looked across at Catra again. “Okay, your turn,” she said. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

Adora’s eyes glittered with a bit of humor as she asked, “Do you still work at that fancy nail spa?”

What kind of a question was that? Truth or dare truths were supposed to be exposing and embarrassing, not mundane. “Pfft, yeah,” Catra answered, wary of some kind of sneaky ‘part two’ to the inquiry. “Pays better than most places, and they can’t fire me because I’m Costa Rican.” She studied her long, sharp black nails, courtesy of said nail spa. With employee discount, of course.

“What does that have to do with it?” Adora asked.

“Have you ever been to a nail place?” Catra retorted, curling her lip. “Apparently people have a fetish for ‘ethnic’ girls giving beauty treatments.”

Adora’s lips pressed together into a thin line. “That seems offensive.”

“No dip.” Was this really the whole interrogation? Adora had just wasted a whole turn asking about her day job? Catra wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Was it caring, or stupid, or was Adora going to somehow use it against her later? Catra snorted at that unlikely thought. _Lame_ is what it was. “Your turn,” she prompted. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“I dare you to scream as loud as you can when Bow isn’t expecting it.”

Immediate clamor. “We already saw how well that works!” Bow cried out at the same time Glimmer shrieked “Do you want to _die_?” and Perfuma and Entrapta just gave passionate “ _No!_ ”s.

Catra threw up her hands defensively, protesting, “She picked dare! That’s the dare.”

The cacophony from the rest of the car turned on Adora and she took her turn to stammer out a mollifying “Well—fine! Truth then.”

The Bright Mooners calmed down somewhat, and Catra flashed a devious smile. She had a juicy one ready. “Do/marry/kill, out of the people in this car,” she declared.

“Ooh, this social experiment just got interesting,” Entrapta whispered into her phone’s mic.

Adora gave Catra a withering look that was only partially undermined by the blush that was coming to her cheeks. “Seriously, Catra?” she whined. When the brunette just shrugged matter-of-factly, Adora huffed and turned her gaze away. “Ugh. I guess…marry Bow,” she grumbled, earning an appreciative hoot from the driver, “kill, um, myself—”

“You can’t do that!” Catra jumped in.

Adora was indignant. “You never said I couldn’t!”

“Well, I’m saying it now.”

“It’s too late now, I already answered.”

“Ugh, you suck!” Catra rolled her head back against the seat, aggrieved but knowing Adora could be just as stubborn as she. “Fine,” she allowed. But—“Last one. Who’d you bang?” That wicked smirk was coming back. She couldn’t escape this one.

“Oh my gosh,” Adora groaned, letting her voice trail off and burying her face in her hands. It was flushed so red Catra feared she was going to pop a blood vessel or something. She didn’t fear _that_ much, though, of course, because who cared about Adora?

“We’re waiting,” Glimmer chimed in in a sing-songy tone. She was enjoying this almost as much as Catra was. The brunette felt a small rush of approval toward the seemingly snobbish little girl.

Adora groaned again, long and put-upon. Catra loved it. Certainly she hadn’t expected to press Catra into a game of truth or dare and not suffer for it! Even dumb Kyle knew never to challenge a pro at her own game. This was natural selection at work.

Finally Adora’s shoulders raised in a deep breath and then she exhaled heavily, mumbling something into her hands too low for anyone to hear.

Catra leaned in deliberately, the grin spreading on her face. Every opportunity to make Adora squirm she would gladly take. “What was that?” she asked innocently.

Adora uncovered her face and looked up scowling. Her blue eyes were bright as stars against the contrast of her tomato-red face, still unfairly pretty. She gritted her teeth and reluctantly grated out between them: “I said, do you.”

“There it is,” Glimmer crowed triumphantly.

“Ooohh,” Bow breathed out, covering his mouth with one hand. He obviously would have used both if he hadn’t been driving.

Catra threw back her head and laughed, making Adora scowl even harder. Man, it felt good to embarrass the crap out of her. It wasn’t the revenge that she’d always dreamed of, but it was all right. Plus, now she knew Adora would do her. If required. And she only had the people in this car to choose from. But still. A victory was a victory.

“Truth or dare.” Adora said quickly, cutting off any more discussion, face still flaming.

Catra gave her a teasing little smile, feeling just godlike. She had to tell Scorpia about this as soon as they stopped someplace and met the other van. “Truth,” she chose, deciding to allow Adora a chance at retaliation.

Instead Adora pulled something lame again. “What’s your biggest flaw?” What was _with_ her and her weirdly vanilla personal questions?

“The stupid scar on my jaw from where you pushed me off the bed into the edge of the nightstand when we were 8,” Catra replied snarkily.

“That’s not what I meant!” Adora fumed.

“I answered the question.”

Adora rolled her eyes so hard she must have seen her brain. “But that wasn’t the _truth_ relative to what I _meant_.”

“Whatever. It’s my turn,” Catra stated, suppressing a snicker. Adora was just too _easy_. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“I dare you to eat one of Entrapta’s hairs.”

“I do _not_ consent to that activity,” Entrapta announced immediately.

Catra groaned loudly. “Ughh, fine! You guys are so boring.”

Adora cracked a grin, finally. Apparently Catra wasn’t the only one who liked seeing the other suffer. “Do another dare this time,” she suggested.

“Okay,” Catra agreed, jumping at this generous chance to be an even bigger prick. “I dare you to lick the window.”

“What is with you and licking things?” Adora demanded immediately, and then colored. “I, uh—oh. Pretend I didn’t just say that.”

Glimmer was suddenly interested again. Man, that girl must have been absolutely _sheltered_ at home. There was so much suppressed sexual curiosity in her compact little body that she practically leaked at the seams. “No, I’m curious, are we just talking about the game, or—?”

“O _kay!_ Let’s keep it PG for Perfuma please,” Bow cut in deliberately.

“What do you mean?” Perfuma asked pleasantly. Okay, maybe Glimmer wasn’t the only one who was ridiculously sheltered. What were they teaching them over at Bright Moon? Basket weaving?

Adora saw a chance at a way out and dove for it. “I agree with Bow, heh,” she chuckled weakly. “Maybe we should switch to a different game before we wear this one out.”

“No, I’m interested. Please continue,” Glimmer cut off her escape. Catra found herself grinning. She liked this Glitter girl more with every passing moment. What better way to bond with your enemies than by torturing Adora?

“You guys suck!” Adora complained.

“Lick the freaking window, Adora,” Catra pressured maliciously.

Adora glared at her for about the thousandth time, and it still wasn’t old. “You _also_ suck!”

Glimmer practically giggled with glee. “This just keeps getting better and better!” Perfuma looked very confused as to what she meant, but no one was willing to explain.

Adora was deliciously fed up. Wisps of hair had come free from her ponytail as if by sheer force of her annoyance, and now they framed her face attractively. She blew out a vicious breath and growled, “Geez, _fine_ , I’m doing it, I’m doing it.”

Catra could barely keep from bursting out laughing. “That’s what she said,” she whispered just as Adora turned to face the window.

The blonde whipped back around and exploded, “Shut _up_ , Catra!” swatting her on the arm repeatedly until Catra scooted to the furthest reaches of her seat to escape, still cackling.

“I can’t help it; you just keep walking right into it!”

Perfuma was about six thousand steps behind. “Who is ‘she?’”

“Oh my gosh.” Adora’s face descended into her hands.

Bow, Glimmer, and Catra couldn’t contain their laughter anymore, and the car filled up with the sound. Entrapta leaned across and patted Perfuma’s knee consolingly, whispering, “If you simply _pretend_ to understand what’s occurring, the answer will often make itself known at a later date. I do it all the time!”

Perfuma gave her a grateful smile. “I will have to try that.”

Entrapta scooted closer and extended her phone toward the hippie girl. “Want to see what I’ve concluded from my social experiment notes so far?” She had a tentative smile on her face, as if she were asking Perfuma out or something and not just sharing her weird research project.

Perfuma accepted, and the two girls hunched over Entrapta’s Notes page while behind them Adora finally grew a pair and licked the window. Catra cheered sarcastically.

When Adora turned back around, her eyes were narrowed. “Truth or dare?” she asked grudgingly.

“Dare.”

“I dare you to turn someone in this car into a dirty meme.”

Finally, something sort of interesting. Catra’s lips twitched up mischievously. “Glitter already is a dirty meme,” she said.

“Hey!” Glimmer snapped shrilly.

Adora laughed but amended: “For that comment, you have to turn _yourself_ into a dirty meme instead.”

Catra rolled her eyes. “God, it’s not that hard when I literally have ‘cat’ in my name,” she muttered.

Perfuma lifted her head from Entrapta’s phone to say, “I don’t get it.”

“Let’s steer away from that one, guys,” Bow spoke up, ever the responsible one. Then he glanced back curiously to ask, “Hey, what is Catra short for, anyway?”

“Nothing.”

“Catherina.”

“Adora, I swear,” Catra grated out, baring her sharp teeth, but Adora ignored her.

“I couldn’t pronounce the whole thing when I was little so I just called her Catra,” she explained. She looked over at Catra fondly. “She hated it at first—”

Catra slumped down in her seat and crossed her arms sourly. “Now I just hate _you_.”

“—but it stuck.”

Perfuma turned around to smile at them, and her teeth were blindingly white against her tan skin. “Aww, that’s so sweet! Adora practically named you,” she gushed.

No. That wasn’t right. Catra’s frown deepened as echoes of the dreaded Ms. Weaver’s voice stirred up in her mind. _I only kept you around because Adora was fond of you,_ and _Adora, you must do better to keep her under control_. “Like a pet, huh?” she murmured bitterly.

“More like an SO, actually,” Glimmer corrected, oblivious to Catra’s darkening mood.

“Guys, that’s not better—” Adora began quickly, but Entrapta’s eyes had lit up in apparent understanding.

“Ahah! It’s a _pet name_ as opposed to the name of a pet!” she theorized.

“It’s not a pet name! It’s just her name,” Adora protested. “She could go by anything if she wanted.” Part of Catra warmed at the thought that Adora was trying to protect her dignity, but a larger part pointed out resentfully that Adora had been the one to endanger it in the first place. This was just it, huh? Catra never could go very long without being reminded of the hurts she’d suffered at Adora’s hands. For a while things had been going well; she’d even begun to maybe bond with the shiny losers from Bright Moon, but inevitably she ended up here, back in shadow.

“Ms. Weaver called me Catherina. Not like I’m going back to that,” she muttered. Familiar bitterness was twisting into her heart. She tried halfheartedly to fight it, steamrolling on. “Anyway. Truth or dare?”

“Truth.” Adora was looking at her with that tender, annoying concern that always entered her eyes when the orphanage was mentioned. Catra was again torn between appreciation and anger. Again tried to swallow it. She was here now; stuck with Adora, the object of her hurt. It wouldn’t do any good to get such an early start on their inevitable emotional blowup.

Still she was tempted to ask: “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”

Adora still had that raw look on her face. “Honestly?” she said softly.

Catra was too drained to make a cutting response. “Yeah.”

“Leave you.”

The car was silent.

Now where did Adora get off saying a thing like that? She embarrassed Catra, reminded her of all the heart-rending _crap_ that her past brought back, stuck her nose where it didn’t belong and then wanted to be all regretful about it? No. She didn’t get to do that. She didn’t get to be tender. Because if Catra was going to get through this dumb trip without seeing her heart spill out onto the floor, Adora couldn’t tempt her like that. She couldn’t make her want to believe her like that.

It was much safer to be angry.

When Adora spoke next it was timid. That was rare. “Truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Catra responded mechanically.

“Do you hate me?”

Another bombshell. Adora was just on a roll.

The silence stretched for a long time. Catra stared at her shiny black nails.

What was she supposed to say to that? Her feelings toward Adora…they were really too complicated to fit into the box of either 'yes' or 'no', as much as she wanted to convince herself that a simple 'yes' was the truth. Did she hate her for what she’d done? Yeah. But did that overwrite the literal years of their inseparable friendship and loving camaraderie and steadfast dependability toward each other? …No?

God, she wished it were easy.

She’d been silent too long. She had to say something, but the best she could come up with was a weak, mumbled “I guess.”

She couldn’t look at Adora. The hurt on her face would be too much.

That thought made her stop.

During all that time that Adora was gone to Bright Moon for her stupid little magnet program, Catra had seethed and groaned and cried over her loss. Of course she had. Adora was her best friend and her first…her first… She let that sentence drop. Adora had been her _everything_ and she’d acted like Catra was the same for her. She’d even made a stupid promise that they’d stick together for the long haul. And then, when she went back on it, Catra’s whole world had been shattered. So of course she was really freaking angry.

But in that lonely, angry haze of alternating fire and gloom…had she really ever thought about how Adora felt?

She supposed she hadn’t really given her time to explain before she started ignoring Adora’s texts and walking home from school a different way.

She hadn’t really given it much thought because she assumed Adora had everything she wanted at her dumb new private school.

Well, didn’t she? It was easy to think so, seated as she was in the middle of a crowd of the snobby culprits themselves. But at the same time…Catra was here, too. Adora had reached out to her after a year. She’d invited her to this stupid useless thing and maybe that meant that she really _didn’t_ have everything she wanted; maybe she was lacking one of her deepest desires and she was only trying just now to win it back and Catra hadn’t realized it till now and maybe—

“We’re almost to Eufaula!” Bow announced awkwardly, shattering the oppressive silence. “We’ll stop and grab something to eat there, so we should probably wrap up all the truthing and daring.”

“You’re such a dad, Bow,” Glimmer said to him. Even she sounded a little reserved, like maybe she actually had a dimmer switch on that overpowering personality of hers.

“I literally have two dads. What did you expect?”

Glimmer giggled. “I’ve gotta know. Is it just one endless cycle of dad jokes all the time, or?”

“A fascinating thesis! Bow, do tell,” Entrapta piped up. Well, it was confirmed that _she_ definitely did not have an ‘off’ setting.

“They actually specialize in puns more than dad jokes,” Bow corrected.

“That’s a shocker,” Glimmer said sarcastically, grinning at him. So apparently puns must be a thing with Bow.

Catra’s attention was pulled away from the Bright Mooners by a light clearing of the throat from beside her. She lifted her eyes slowly, reluctantly, to meet Adora’s.

“I guess we’re done, then?” the blonde murmured, below the others’ hearing.

Catra’s lips twitched. That was a loaded question. In it, Catra sensed an out. She could just nod. Just say 'yes' and that would be it; Adora would leave her alone after another week and they could be done for good. They could leave behind this broken relationship and this broken dream and bury it in the past like they’d tried to do with Weaver and her orphanage. Tried and failed, but tried all the same.

Or…

Or she could say _something_ , and bring them back from the edge. This week could be a beginning instead of an end. It could be a step toward actual healing instead of the last straw in a fight they’d been fighting for a year. It could be everything she’d been missing since Adora left. It could be the chance she didn’t know she’d been dying for.

God, she wished it were _easy_.

She sucked in a long, deep, unsteady breath. She could feel the tension rolling off Adora in waves. She’d passed the ball into Catra’s court and she was afraid of what Catra would do with it, and Catra couldn’t blame her. She’d never had too much faith in herself, either.

Catra looked at her. Those earnest blue eyes were shining with unshed tears, and Catra felt her heart squeeze. Since when did she stop wanting to see Adora cry?

Since she decided to give Adora another chance, she guessed.

“One last turn,” she said quietly. “Truth or dare.”

Adora’s breath came out in a shaky burst. Relieved. Grateful. Relieved and grateful that Catra wasn’t giving up on them. Did she really care that much? “Uhm…truth,” she decided. Her voice sounded as if she had a stuffy nose.

Catra moved a little closer. “What are you thinking right now?” she murmured.

Adora broke into a short, ironic laugh, and this time the tears escaped and slid down her cheeks. Were they glad tears? Catra wanted to brush them away regardless. “Never mind. I pick dare,” she said.

“I dare you to tell me what you’re thinking right now.”

“You can’t do that!”

“You can’t change your pick.”

“Fine!” Adora swiped the heel of her hand under her eyes, displacing the tears. More just followed. “I’m—I’m thinking—” she coughed on them and sniffled. God, why was she crying? What was Catra supposed to do about that? “Thinking, uh…” Adora gazed back at her and they both had so much in their expressions that was going unsaid but now wasn’t the time to say it and Catra didn’t know if she would _ever_ be ready to say it but right know all she knew was those tears on Adora’s face were bothering her and—“crap.”

Catra’s thoughts halted. “ _Crap?_ That’s it?”

“No! I, uh—yes.” Adora’s eyes were wide and confused and so, so blue. She was such a mess. They both were.

But they were a mess together?

Catra felt an unlikely laugh bubble up in her throat. “Bright Moon’s made you so _weird_ , Adora,” she whispered, and finally reached up to brush those dumb tears off of Adora’s cheeks. Adora leaned into her hand.

***

They’d stopped for lunch at the Chick-fil-A in Eufaula, Alabama and camped out on some picnic benches across the street to work on their meals.

Catra was sitting with Scorpia, and Adora watched them chat and laugh over their sandwiches with a tingle of something like longing.

When had they gone so wrong?

The little debacle in the car was still forefront in her mind. She hadn’t meant to start crying; hadn’t expected it at all, really, because she thought she had learned to live with Catra maybe hating her. But once they actually talked about it, like in person like she’d always hoped but never expected, the flood of emotion was overpowering.

Catra had gotten a chance to push Adora away for good, and she hadn’t taken it. Did that mean she was starting to forgive her? Did that mean she wanted to try again?

Adora would give anything to have her relationship with Catra restored. That snarky little brunette had been her closest friend and loyal companion for her entire childhood and she didn’t want to throw all their promises away just because of some stupid school transfer. She figured it was mostly her fault, after all, but she’d tried to remedy her mistake. She’d done what she could to apologize. She’d extended an invitation for a chance at reconciliation. Now she just had to wait for Catra to come around.

But of course she was best friends with the absolute champion of grudges.

She couldn’t tell if Catra was ignoring her on purpose right now, or if she was just recovering too from their little heart-to-heart. She hadn’t spoken to Adora after that brief lapse into gentleness when she’d reached out and wiped away her tears. Adora’s cheeks were still fuzzy from the feeling of her warm, careful touch—a tenderness so unlike her. Adora still couldn’t figure out what it meant.

Every once in a while Catra’s eyes flickered to hers, though, only to slide away guiltily when she noticed Adora was looking. Also unlike her.

But not necessarily bad?

Adora chewed her caesar salad pensively. She was sitting with Bow, Glimmer, Frosta and Seamista, but their conversation was like blurry background noise to her ears. She remained drifting in her personal cloud of confusing thoughts until somebody new approached the table. Her gaze traveled up.

Scorpia had come over. She was smiling, as always. Adora wondered if the big girl was physically able to _not_. “Hey, guys!” she greeted brightly, tossing her empty sandwich wrapper in the nearby can and brushing off her red-stained hands. “We were kinda wondering. What do the, uh, sleeping arrangements look like?”

Bow adopted his businesslike dad voice and replied, “Well, there’s 10 of us, so it reasons that there’ll be 5 to a room. Each room should have 2 beds and a sofa, so one way or another, most of us will be sharing.” He counted on his fingers as he explained.

Scorpia gave two thumbs up. “Okay! I’ll tell them.” She turned away to head back to her table where the other Keston grads and Perfuma were sitting, but then halted, amending, “Oh, never mind! Here they come now.”

Adora practically startled as the rest of the group joined them. She risked a glance, met Catra’s eyes accidentally, and almost panicked.

Bow chose that instant to add, “It would make the most sense for everyone to sleep with the person they invited.”

Adora froze.

_What?_

No. Ohh, no. No way she and Catra could be sharing a bed. That was just a clawed face or an ‘accidental’ smothering waiting to happen.

She saw Catra’s eyes widen too. She was staring at Adora and looking very distressed but oddly enough, the expression she wore wasn’t one of outrage. In fact…was she _blushing?_

Oh, man, Adora thought. That’s even worse.

“Right! Probably more comfortable that way,” Scorpia agreed cheerily. Well of course it would be for _her_. Entrapta never slept. She probably wouldn’t even go near the bed. She didn’t have to worry about a year’s worth of emotional tumult and thinly veiled hatred and also weird suppressed sexual tension sleeping right next to her.

“More comfortable,” Adora echoed weakly to herself. “Right. Yeah.”

“That seems like a breach of personal space,” Entrapta put in, popping up over Scorpia’s shoulder. The big girl turned to allow her into the discussion and grinned.

“It’s called bonding,” she corrected.

“But we already have a bond,” Entrapta pointed out, tapping her chin. For the others’ benefit she lowered her voice and explained conspiratorially: “She refers to it as the Super Pal Duo.”

Adora jumped at the chance to maybe wiggle out of this predicament. “I thought it was the Super Pal _Trio_ ,” she smirked, remembering a comment Scorpia had dropped in passing at one of the Bright Moon/Keston soccer games. Instantly a blue and gold glare was burning into her, but Adora was too relieved to mind. Maybe if she threw Catra under the bus and made her room with Hordak’s crowd, they wouldn’t be stuck in a bed together.

Entrapta perked up and was suddenly encroaching on Catra’s personal space instead of Scorpia’s, crowing, “Yes! Assuming Catra rooms with us too.”

The brunette cringed at her volume and raised her top lip in a silent snarl, leaning away not-so-subtly. Not that Entrapta picked up on it anyway. “Whatever,” she ground out. “As long as you don’t touch any of my stuff.”

Entrapta hummed and cracked a disturbing smile. “As long as there’s nothing _interesting_ in your stuff.”

“You can touch _my_ stuff!” Perfuma volunteered. Was that her way of inviting herself into their room? If so, for an oblivious eco-warrior she was super slick about it.

“Yeah, I bet…” Catra murmured saucily. Adora shot her a scathing look, which she ignored. Right. Still getting the cold shoulder.

“What?” asking Perfuma innocently. “I’m all for harmony.”

“So if you’re rooming with us only the couch would be left,” Scorpia reminded her. “Are you okay with that?”

Ah, geez. That meant she was counting both Catra _and_ Adora in their group. So much for throwing Catra under the bus.

“I actually brought my eno so that I can sleep on the balcony, close to nature,” Perfuma shared.

Catra, ever the pessimist, crossed her arms and jabbed, “What if it rains?” Her cheeks were still colored with a blush despite her frown. Was she _trying_ to get them stranded sleeping in the same bed? Adora’s throat constricted so much at that thought that she shoved it away immediately. Catra was just being contrary, that was all. That was definitely all.

Perfuma pursed her lips. “Oh. Well I suppose I’ll use the couch then.”

“In the interest of bonding I suppose I should offer you a place in mine and Scorpia’s bed, should that be the case,” Entrapta chimed in. Now, _that_ was interesting. Did Catra and Glimmer just share a smirk? Willingly?

 _What_ was happening?

“We’re going to Florida, Entrapta. In the summer. Do you know how hot that would be?” Catra pointed out.

Entrapta wrung her hands. Was she just nervous under all the attention, or…? “I’m only trying to promote…harmony,” she squeaked out, spreading her palms blamelessly.

Catra was definitely flashing a fang now. “You know, Flower Girl, if you decide you don’t want the couch, I’ll take it,” she suggested.

Adora’s breath whooshed out all at once. She couldn’t tell if it was in relief or disappointment. So that was Catra’s play, then. Manipulate the other poor awkward souls to save her from any close proximity with Adora. Sure, Adora had _kind_ of been doing the same thing, but that was just because she didn’t want to get shanked! It wasn’t like she would _mind_ sleeping with Catra if Catra, you know, _wanted_ to, but—

But she didn’t. That was clear now. She would just keep avoiding Adora this whole time.

“What’s wrong, princess?” Catra’s voice broke into her thoughts, suddenly close. _Crap!_ Was she that obvious? Catra leaned one palm on the table, that infuriating smirk now aimed at Adora, and Adora didn’t know if this was better or worse that being ignored. “That disappointed that you won’t get me into bed?”

Okay, I take it back, Adora thought desperately, fighting a blush with all her might. Ignoring me was better. Way better. Please end my suffering.

“Wh—no!” she blurted too fast. “Catra, ugh! I just—I was just—” She cast around and found her mind absolutely blank of any excuses. Everyone was staring at her. “I thought, maybe—well, we…” That wasn’t fair! Was she just destined to always be a complete sucker for every one of Catra’s stupid mind games? She’d thought she was _mad_ , for crap’s sake, so what was this? She pressed her lips together tight. “Never mind.”

Catra straightened up, releasing her from her spell. “That’s what I thought.” Something in her eyes was different. Good different? Adora was too flustered to tell.

“Oo _kay_ , well,” Bow said loudly, slapping his thighs and rising from his bench, “shall we?” He extended a hand chivalrously toward the vans. “Only about three hours to go!”

Scorpia and Sea Hawk cheered and took off in a literal race toward Mermista’s HR-V. The rest followed more calmly, except Entrapta, who trotted off after a squirrel, dictating into her Notes app.

Adora hung back and watched her go, almost jealous. She remembered from Entrapta’s Bright Moon days that the pigtail-wearing genius never dwelled on one thing for more than a second, unless of course it was research. Research meant she might spend eight hours hunched over the same microchip or mini-motor without looking up. But emotions? They were a foreign concept to her. She might laugh along to one of Scorpia’s jokes or blush a bit when complimented, but for the most part she just skipped along the surface of life like a flat stone, taking things at face value and then trundling right along to the next. She supposed Entrapta had her own difficulties, but from the outside looking in, her existence seemed positively blissful compared to Adora’s own neurotic nightmare.

Entrapta’s squirrel disappeared into a small grove of trees, and the techie straightened up and looked around, noticing for the first time that she was alone. “Guys?” she called faintly, not quite anxiously. She raised her phone to her mouth. “I fear I’ve been left behind,” she said into it.

Adora felt a little pang of sympathy and she chose that moment to start toward the cars, waving to Entrapta to catch her attention.

“Disregard previous entry; Adora is here,” the purple-topped girl updated her Notes page, grinning. Then she slipped the phone into a violet fanny pack and jogged after the blonde, crowing, “Thanks, Adora!”

Adora smiled. She was really glad Mermista’s dad had let the girls invite their Keston friends as well. She’d missed seeing them around.

As she and Entrapta trailed after the others to the vans, that thought brought Adora back to Catra. She eyed Bow’s gold minivan apprehensively, not sure if she was ready to face three more hours sitting beside the object of her anxiety. Was Catra still upset? Had their little exchange over the bedrooms remedied that? Was she in for a rough last leg of the trip, or were they okay? She didn’t know.

But it was fine, she told herself. It would be fine.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to the running meme of Perfuma understanding exactly zero (0) dirty jokes


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bring some popcorn

Catra was fine. She was still feeling a little off after that weird emotional _thing_ she and Adora’d had, but she was good at burying things. So she shoveled a mound of dirt over all the vulnerable, confusing feelings Adora stirred up in her and packed it down nicely and went about her day feeling a little lighter. Sure, maybe she’d had to ignore Adora for a while before she found her prickly, well-defended center again and holed up inside, but now she was back to almost-normal.

Meaning she dropped snappish remarks into the Bright Mooners' conversation every once in a while, made fun of Scorpia behind her back, and then conked out for the rest of the drive.

She hadn’t really realized she was napping until Glimmer announced, “We’re heeere!” at the top of her lungs and Catra jerked upright fast enough to put a crick in her spine.

Rubbing her back distastefully, she stretched and looked out Adora’s window to catch a glimpse of their destination. It was tall, made of teal blue concrete with off-white trim, largely a long rectangle except for the smooth semicircular protrusions around the stairwells. A blue sign on top with a stylized wave on it declared SALINEAS RESORT. There must have been two hundred exterior doors overlooking the parking lot. Catra whistled lowly. “Big place.”

“Yeah! It’s super huge and super popular, which is why the Miras are _so_ super rich—well, that plus Mermista’s mom has that fashion line…”

Glimmer’s voice faded into the background as Catra’s gaze slid from the window to the person sitting in front of it and realized that Adora was staring at her.

“What?” she snapped, suddenly nervous but trying to sound annoyed. Had she been drooling or something? Was her hair a wreck? Why was Adora smirking like that? She wiped her mouth quickly before she could stop herself, and then cursed inwardly and scowled as Adora’s eyes crinkled with humor. “What?” she said again. “Did I—” She broke off and her eyes went wide in horror as something occurred to her. “I didn’t fall asleep on you, did I?”

Adora was still grinning so _infuriatingly_ and instead of answering she teased Catra with a shrug, which made her just want to scream, and—

“I mean, I didn’t say anything.”

“Gahh!” Catra flopped back in her seat inconsolably and stared out the windshield as they pulled up to the front of the building under a soaring blue overhang. Adora just doubled over giggling at her like the jerk she was. When the blonde wasn’t looking, Catra ran a subtle hand over her hair, just in case.

“You can see the ocean from here!” Perfuma gushed, rolling down her window to lean out for a better view.

Entrapta squawked uncomfortably: “It’s not safe to place your extremities outside the vehicle when—!”

“You’re _literally_ still not even wearing a seatbelt, Entrapta,” Bow interrupted her without even turning around to look. He and Glimmer and Perfuma all burst out laughing. Entrapta looked down in apparent surprise to see that he was right and joined in with their mirth tentatively. Perfuma gave her a comforting pat on the knee just to assure her that it was in good humor.

In any case, Perfuma was right. The resort was right on the water, just as Scorpia had said. To both sides of the building a sliver of ocean was visible, sparkling distantly in the afternoon sun. Catra wasn’t a huge fan of large bodies of water, but the sight still started a tiny smile tugging at her lips. She was _here_. She was at the stupid beach with a bunch of stupid losers from Bright Moon Prep and stupid Adora was right beside her and she didn’t really hate it as much as she thought she would.

She glanced at Adora again and found the jock watching her, her own smile spreading. It was too late to pretend like she wasn’t a _little_ bit excited, but Catra couldn’t find it in her to care right now. She nudged Adora playfully and Adora nudged her back harder and both of them laughed like dumb little girls, just like they used to. Then they both gazed out the window at the ocean again.

Maybe, Catra thought… maybe this stupid trip could be all right.

***

They’d barely finished unloading the vans, rolling all their luggage up to floor 6 on those neat little silver trolleys, and scoping out their rooms before Sea Hawk was clamoring to get down to the beach. He bounced between their two rooms through the adjoining door in the wall, begging (he literally kept saying “I beg of you!”) for them to hurry and probably ticking off their lower neighbors with all his stomping around. He’d torn off his anchor print overshirt and now just wore his blue swim trunks and a weird red neckerchief that made him look vaguely pirate-y.

Once Mermista barked, “Sea Hawk! The ocean will _still_ be there in five minutes,” he toned it down somewhat, flopping onto one of the sofas in his group’s common room (for some reason they had two). That didn’t stop him from jiggling his legs hyperactively and giving them all pleading puppy eyes. 

Only Scorpia was kind enough to console him with a pat on the knee and a passing, “It’s alright, Pirate Guy! We’re almost ready.” Probably because she was hardly less excited to be here than he.

It really wasn’t that long before the whole crowd was decked in swimwear and hanging around the mostly-Bright Moon apartment. Some had gone more reluctantly than others, like Frosta, who was meticulously covering every inch of exposed skin with sunscreen, and Catra, who hadn’t even changed out of her normal muscle shirt.

When Perfuma sidled up to her and asked, “Won’t your top get all wet?” Catra wrinkled her nose and replied, “Not if I don’t get in the water.”

Scorpia overhead that comment and came bulldozing into the exchange. “ _What?_ Catra, we’re at the beach! You’ve gotta at least get your toes wet.”

“At least,” Perfuma agreed, completely missing her accidental innuendo.

Catra just scoffed and declined to answer. Wouldn’t get through their thick skulls anyway. 

She was saved from further pressure when Glimmer stood up on the couch where Sea Hawk was deposited and announced, “Hey guys! We made iiit!” She did a little jig while cheers from the more enthusiastic of their crowd went up. Then her brown eyes went businesslike and she continued: “Now. Bow and I have drawn up a little list of things we might want to do while we’re here, and I wanted to read it out now so we can kind of get a head start on all our beachy adventures. We haven’t made an itinerary yet but that’s soon to come.”

“Micromanaging much?” Catra muttered, only to earn a loud shushing from the nearby Entrapta, to her great annoyance.

Glimmer hadn’t heard. She steamrolled on, dictating from a sparkly purple notebook that could have been Bow’s just as likely as her own while Sea Hawk practically vibrated with impatience by her feet. Her list included typical beach-esque activities like getting ice cream, shopping, and beach volleyball, but a few oddities like ‘don’t set any boats on fire’ and ‘stay out of the air vents’ had Catra glancing around and wondering what exactly she’d gotten herself into. When Glimmer had finished, she snapped the notebook closed and handed it to Bow (called it) and then pumped her fist in the air, crying, “Let’s rock this beach!”

Sea Hawk was out of his seat so fast it knocked Glimmer off balance and Adora, who was closest, had to catch her with a surprised “Oof!” The pink puffball definitely blushed, but Catra tried to ignore that little exchange.

They straggled out of the room and onto the breezeway that led to the elevators, Sea Hawk and Scorpia trundling ahead, Catra trailing behind. Somehow she fell into step next to Glitterball herself, who was decked out in a purple one-piece reaching to mid-thigh, complete, of course, with a moon logo on the front. She resisted the temptation to say something about Bright Moon propaganda, but only barely. She was still ruffled by the way Adora had jumped in to save Little Miss Purple Pants’s butt just a minute ago. Would she have done that for Catra? She studied the blonde’s back as she walked a little ways ahead with Mermista and Perfuma.

As they reached the elevator landing and the first half of their group piled in, Glimmer breathed deeply and dramatically and then sighed it out, saying, “Ahh, the smell of salt, sunscreen, and sand. It’s like the essence of summer.” She placed her hands on her hips and tilted her face into the warm breeze as if soaking it in.

It did, in fact, smell rather beachy right here, but Catra wasn’t about to admit that in a positive way. Instead she grumbled, “More like tourist sweat and heat stroke. I feel like I’m suffocating.”

Bow was suddenly beside her, clapping her on the shoulder (without permission) and grinning like the cheeseball he was. “Come on, Catra,” he admonished good-naturedly, “Surely you have to like _something_ about the beach.”

“Yeah,” Shimmer agreed with a little more bite. “Aren’t there plenty of small children’s sandcastles to stomp on?” Well, there went their tenuous truce forged over sexual innuendos.

Catra bristled. She wasn’t sure if it was the fact that Glimmer was mocking her or the realization that Adora had said something very similar not too long ago, but something in her panged painfully and she slid her gaze away, muttering, “Whatever, Lucky Charms.” Backing out of a confrontation for the second time in five minutes. What was wrong with her? Was she losing her touch? Losing her nerve?

She knew exactly what it was, but she was loath to admit it.

A _chance_ is what it was. Catra was giving these dumb Bright Mooners a chance to not suck for once. Giving Adora a chance to make things right with her. Giving this trip a chance to be a step toward healing.

But the more she held her tongue and bore the Bright Mooners’ BS, the more she felt her good graces slipping.

She crossed her arms and went to lean against the elevator wall as soon as the compartment opened up for its second load, trying to remain as far as possible from Adora’s shiny preps. As the doors slid closed behind the remainder of their group and they started down, Catra ventured a glance around. Where had Adora gone, anyway? Down with the first load, apparently.

Leaving Catra behind. Again. Some job she was doing to make things up to her.

Not for the first time, Catra thought that maybe this whole thing was a mistake.

They reached the ground floor and the elevator released them. Catra lingered to be the last one off, preferring to stay out of Glitter’s line of sight for the time being. It was much more enjoyable to stare holes in her back anyway.

“There you are!” a voice cried as she exited the lift, making her jump. Catra whipped to the side and her eyes fell on Adora, who pushed off from the teal stucco wall to fall in beside her. She was carrying a skimboard under one arm. A few blonde hairs had been pulled free of her ponytail by the wind and she blew them out of her face as she grinned. “Did I scare you?”

Catra scowled and turned away as they paced down the open-air tunnel leading along the base of the building to the beach access ramp. “No.”

Adora bumped her shoulder as they walked, drawing Catra’s annoyed gaze. Her sympathetic face made it simultaneously harder and much easier to remain irritated with her. “Sorry if they’re not being as welcoming as I thought they would,” she apologized, looking at Catra tentatively. “They’re…kind of a lot.”

Well, that was sweet, Catra reflected before she remembered to be spiteful. “Yeah, especially Glamor or whatever her name is,” she growled, staring ahead to glower at said offender.

Adora sighed. “She’s hard to win over,” she agreed. Catra started to think bitterly, Oh, so you would know? but then Adora’s voice dropped and she explained: “Her mom told me that it used to be different before they lost her dad, but since then Glimmer’s been really closed off.”

 _Oh, crap._ Well, Catra definitely felt like a huge prick now. Ashamed heat rushed to her cheeks and she lowered her gaze to her shuffling feet. “Oh.”

Adora looked at her sideways without accusation. “You’re not easy to warm up to, either, you know.” Catra opened her mouth to protest but Adora smiled softly and elbowed her again. “You guys might be perfect for each other.”

Catra’s indignance flared right up. “Hey!” Well, that at least might mean that Adora and Glitzface were definitely not a thing, but it was also totally offensive in that—“As if!”

“I mean as _friends,_ stupid,” Adora reassured her, laughing. Then her eyes widened and she stammered and corrected, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say that. You’re not stupid. I just—”

“No,” Catra cut her off. A flicker of a smile was pulling at her lips. When was the last time Adora had teasingly insulted her like that, in an affectionate tone that almost made the jab a pet name? When was the last time their banter hadn’t been rife with uncertainty and tension and the feeling that any wrong move would send them over some unseen brink? The car ride here had almost been like it used to be, except that weird hate-anxiety-tears session, but when had they last been _comfortable?_ “It’s okay, moron.”

In that answer was a truce, and Adora’s understanding showed itself in a wide, bright smile. 

They had reached the wooden boardwalk leading down to the beach, where a pile of shoes had already been dumped at the corner by the others. They added theirs to the stack and then briefly met each other’s eyes. Adora’s were sparkling. They matched the ocean.

“Race you,” she said.

Catra didn’t even have time to register the words before Adora was off down the ramp, laughing and kicking up sand as she left the wood and plunged onto the beach for the first time, her skimboard under her arm.

“Hey!” Catra shouted angrily after and gave chase, knowing full well there was no way she would catch up. _As usual,_ her bitter side sniped, but for once Catra silenced it as she ran after Adora onto the sand, as carefree as if they were kids again.

***

The air by the ocean was moist and heavy and faintly gritty, with salt or sand Catra wasn’t sure. It would have been just as suffocating as the rest of this place if it weren’t cut by the brisk wind coming down the beach lengthwise. Still, though, with the evening sun shining directly onto her back, it was only marginally better than sitting in an oven.

She was sitting on Scorpia’s towel at the crest of the ridge just above the high-tide line. She’d stripped off her muscle shirt shortly after sitting down, and now the sun baked her bronzed back hindered only by a red sports bra. Her hair was gathered in a messy ponytail to keep it from sticking to her sweaty neck, but it managed to anyway. Her first experience on the beach with these nerds could pretty much be summed up in one word: _hot._

Mostly she meant the sun and the atmosphere. But the excellent view of Adora that she commanded from behind a pair of sepia sunglasses also fell under that category. Not that Catra would ever admit to thinking so.

The huge dork was attempting to skimboard and had been for the past half hour with minimal success. More times than not she ran, jumped for the board, and landed flat on her butt in the surf as it slid out from under her. She always rose laughing though, even when her gray bikini bottoms were caked in sand and her palms and knees were skinned from spilling. That’s what drew Catra in the most. Adora’s unfailing positivity and energy had always been a kind of bright spot in her life. After being separated from it for a year…man, she’d forgotten how good it felt. She’d forgotten how good it felt to be near Adora, period.

Even if she was currently chumming it up with the Bright Moon crowd and leaving Catra out. Catra tried to hold onto that thought and let it fan the flames of her bitterness, but it was getting steadily harder and harder to hate Adora. Especially after she’d maybe let Catra sleep on her shoulder in the van and waited for her outside the elevator and—

—and was she walking toward Catra right now, dripping ocean water from her hair and her red halter top and carrying the accursed skimboard under her arm like a California surfer and glowing in the evening sun like a literal goddess?

Unfortunately, it looked that way. Catra swallowed dry. Hate her, she reminded herself. You totally hate her.

“Hey, Catra!”

 _Crap._ Totally getting really hard to hate her.

“Hey, Adora,” she drawled back, if just to pretend like she had the upper hand for a second. She leaned back on her elbows and exposed her tan, lean belly for Adora’s benefit, allowing herself a smirk when the blonde flushed a little harder than she already had been. “Given up yet?”

“No!” Adora replied brightly, grinning so her pretty white teeth caught the light. She climbed up the short incline to Catra’s perch, putting those ridiculously fit legs to good use, and shoved the tail of her skimboard into the sand beside her. “I just wanted to see if you wanted to try.”

Catra laughed aloud. “And make myself look like an idiot in front of all your shiny friends? No thanks,” she scoffed. Secretly her heart swelled at the notion that Adora was reaching out to her, but Adora didn’t need to know that.

Adora combed a few damp, hanging hairs out of her face and replied with the barest hint of hurt, “You wouldn’t look like an idiot. You have great balance.”

Now how did Adora remember that? It wasn’t like it was recent that they’d gone stealing out of the orphanage at night to climb up the gables of the old house like the ‘insolent urchins’ old Shivaun Weaver said they were. Or, well—said Catra was. Those nights, Catra had always climbed faster than Adora. It was Adora, too, who had lost her balance one time and ended up with a broken wrist—but Weaver had blamed Catra, of course.

Catra shook her head to clear it. She didn’t need the cobwebs of Weaver’s influence still clinging to her mind after all these years, and especially not when she was here, trying to give Adora a second chance. 

So she put on a wry smile and looked up at Adora, the clumsy, golden child, and shook her head. “Nah.”

“What! Catraaa,” Adora groaned like a toddler, throwing her head back in dismay. When she looked back at the brunette her blue eyes were pleading. “Come on. You can’t just sit here the whole time. We’re at the _beach!_ ” She extended one arm to indicate their surroundings, as if maybe Catra hadn’t noticed.

“Watch me,” Catra shot back, flashing her sharp canines in a sardonic smile.

Adora huffed and opened her mouth to respond, but not before a shout of “Adora!” came from a little ways down the beach and she stopped to look. Fish Girl was splashing through the edge of the surf in her teal and aqua longline and leggings, headed towards them in no particular hurry. Once Adora had turned she put one hand beside her mouth and called lazily, “Let me see your board.”

Not even a request, huh? Rich girls, Catra thought to herself with a twinge of distaste. Or maybe that was just how Mermista was and she would have been bossy and emotionally absent regardless of whether she grew up on the streets or in a mansion. Catra was inclined to believe the latter.

And Adora was a pushover either way. “Sure,” she replied, voice raised to be heard over the low roar of the nearby water. She descended the little rise to pass her skimboard over to the Bright Mooner, and Catra felt a rush of resentment toward Mermista. She’d _wanted_ to take her time tormenting Adora with refusal after refusal, but how was she supposed to do that if someone else had stolen her means? Adora also had no reason to stick around now. But Catra told herself that she didn’t care about that.

She also wasn’t pleased in the slightest when Adora, instead of walking off to rejoin her Bright Moon pals, slipped and slid back up the rise to where Catra sat. Without asking permission she plopped her damp, sandy rear onto Scorpia’s towel. “Hey!” Catra yelped in protest, hiding her pleasure, “You’ll get it all gross.”

“It’s already lying on the sand, Catra. She’ll have to wash it anyway,” Adora said with a note of exasperation, leaning off the edge of the towel to squeeze out her still-wet hair onto the sand. Then she looked at Catra and her lips were curved in a stupid, adorable smile and Catra knew some cringy remark was sure to follow. “Plus, you got all your grossness on it already. Doesn’t get any worse than that.” Yep, called it.

“If I weren’t so hot, I’d tackle you for that,” Catra snipped. As it were, she’d meant to say ‘if _it_ weren’t so hot,’ but correcting herself would be super embarrassing and she could feel her cheeks getting red enough already.

Adora laughed, seeming not to notice. Then she leaned back on her hands, closed her eyes and let her head tip back so the sun was shining on her golden hair, and Catra had a really hard time trying not to just gaze at her like a moron. This whole ‘hating Adora’ thing would probably be a lot easier if she were ugly, she thought to herself. Or mean. Or unlikeable in any way.

But no, stupid Adora had to be stupidly flawless, and Catra was stuck here in a desperate upstream swim whose end goal was nothing. Drinking in the sight of Adora’s statuesque profile and her cut jawline and the graceful curve of her neck, and thinking about the way she had chosen to sit here beside Catra instead of with Glitzball or Crop Top, Catra wondered absently why she was even bothering to swim any longer. Revenge? Justice? Bitterness?

They all seemed rather pointless to her now.

She hadn’t realized that Adora had cracked her eyes open, let them drift to Catra’s own face and was smiling softly at her in the molten sunlight now. Once she did, it was too late to pretend she hadn’t been staring.

Had their hands been that close to touching before?

It was too hot for this.

Catra swallowed and looked away awkwardly to find that Fish Girl was coming back across the beach toward them, and never before had Catra been so relieved to see a nerdy Bright Mooner headed in her direction. Mermista was looking remarkably dry in comparison to Adora, whose falls in the shallow water had left her thoroughly soaked.

Adora must have noticed the same thing, because her jaw dropped and she cried with an air of injustice, “You didn’t even fall?”

“Nope,” the navy-haired girl responded with a smug look. As she climbed up to them and buried the end of the skimboard in the sand beside Catra, she quipped, “Can’t blame it on the board any longer, princess.”

Adora groaned and flopped back flat on the black towel as Mermista chuckled dryly and retreated to rejoin her weird pirate boyfriend with a jaunty, “‘Bye.”

It wasn’t so much Mermista’s success that left Catra with a bad taste in her mouth, but the fact that the fish girl had called Adora _princess. Catra_ called Adora princess. That was her thing. That was her calling card. That was her thinly veiled pet name. She hadn’t meant to say anything until an incredulous, “ _Princess,_ huh?” escaped her lips, sounding way more offended than she ever would have liked to admit. She stiffened, but the words were already out. Her cards were already on the table.

Adora rolled onto her side to look at Catra oddly. It was tough to read her expression at this inconvenient angle, but Adora’s blue eyes were definitely sparkling. Catra anxiously half-expected her to say something like ‘jealous?’ but instead the blonde gave her a small smile and said, “I guess you’re a trend-setter.”

That seemed like Adora’s way of reassuring her _it was yours first_ without actually acknowledging any awkward subtexts, and Catra felt herself relax. Then she hated herself for being so obviously touchy about such a stupid thing, let alone jealous.

“So you still don’t want to try it?” Adora rescued her from falling too deep into her usual rabbit-hole of self-loathing introspection, gesturing to the upright skimboard. “Come on, even Mermista gave it a shot!”

Catra grunted a negative. “Mermista is like a literal mermaid. Don’t use her for comparison.”

Adora groaned yet again and let her arms fall out limply to the sides in defeat. “Fine,” she conceded, “but don’t expect me to allow you to just sit here for the whole trip!”

“No promises,” Catra grumbled back. The irony of that phrase would probably never wear off to her, she thought bitterly, and then pushed that thought away. To distract herself, she raised her gaze and looked off down the beach toward the rest of their little company as Adora stood, brushed herself off, and took her leave.

Bow and Entrapta were the nearest, and Bow had evidently made good on his promise to teach her the nuances of sandcastle architecture, because the two had made a literal city of sandy structures stretching for yards down the beach. Entrapta was hopping among the little castles and chirping feedback to Bow, who made little adjustments to them according to her advice. They were an odd pair, but seemed to be enjoying themselves.

On the other side of the swath of sandcastles lay Glimmer in a lounge chair, skin bared and eyes closed against the sun, apparently tanning despite her already olive complexion. Bright Moon basic, Catra thought. On one of her armrests balanced a glass of some green slushy substance which, judging from the condensation on the outside, had been cold once. Catra didn’t want to know what the concoction was, but Glimmer sipped at it through a straw as if it were palatable. It probably cost like eight dollars so she was obligated.

Beyond Glimmer on a flat stretch of beach, Pirate Boy, Mermaid Girl, Frost Face and Scorpia were in the middle of a game involving a lot of huffing and puffing and kicking up sand (and falling, in Scorpia’s case). Catra thought disinterestedly that it might be tag, but no one seemed to be running from anyone in particular. She wondered how they could stand to exert themselves like that when it was so boiling out.

Then, “Hey, Perfuma, heads up!” Scorpia’s voice suddenly cut through the ambient beach noise and Catra glimpsed a flying blue object shoot away from the game and careen toward Hippie Girl’s head.

Perfuma had just enough time to turn around from her bird-watching binoculars and utter an oblivious “Hm?” before the object (now recognizable as a Frisbee) was on her, coming right at her nose—

—and Adora snatched it out of the air at the last second.

 _Wow_ slipped out of Catra’s thoughts before she clamped down on them hard like a cat with its prey, reminding herself how _annoying_ it was that Adora always had to pull things like this. She hadn’t even been that close by when the Frisbee lost control! She must have practically dove in front of the Bright Moon girl to catch it—a visual which, though very impressive, made Catra scoff and think, _typical_.

As she watched, Perfuma’s brief look of shock morphed into one of absolute adoration and she hopped off her floral towel and grasped Adora’s hand and did a weird hippie bow thing to her, gushing, “Oh, thank you, Adora! That was amazing! My nose and I are very grateful,” like the huge drama queen all Bright Mooners were.

And Adora twirled the Frisbee around her finger with her free hand, grinning heroically and blushing a little beneath Flower Girl’s praise, which was soon expounded upon by Bow and Scorpia and the rest of the bumbling Frisbee players until they were basically fawning over the golden girl.

“That was so cool, Adora!”

“Can you do it again?”

“If it weren’t for you Perfuma would be in a pickle.”

“Have you ever thought about professional Frisbee?”

Catra curled her lip and looked away, mood soured. Of course something like this would happen. Of course Adora had to save the day. Of course Catra would be reminded of every time one of Adora’s heroics wound up with her getting cast aside; left out; scorned; _second best,_ all just bricks in the crumbling wall of their tainted relationship. Of course it had to be difficult.

Catra sighed and picked at the rough skin of her knees, trying to ignore the disgusting scene just yards down the beach but unable to keep her gaze from sliding back to Adora at every opportunity. She cursed herself for being so fickle. Even when she was actively pissed at Adora, she still couldn’t keep her freaking eyes off her. The hate that burned in her gut was never pure; it had to be all mixed up in regret and guilt and grudging admiration and—and—

Adora was looking at her through her crowd of bright, shiny flunkies and there was something in her face that seemed almost ashamed, almost desperate for approval, and Catra told herself she was _not_ going to cave and give it to her, she _wasn’t._ But Adora was still looking and Catra couldn’t stop herself from feeling just a little bit warm and it wasn’t like Adora was doing this to hurt her on purpose, so why be angry? Why not just join in with the simpering Bright Mooners and admit that Adora was her sun and moon and stars and—and—

Catra gave her a little smile. Just so Adora knew that she’d noticed.

Man, she hated herself.

But Adora…Adora was practically beaming, and Catra wasn’t quite ready to think about what exactly that meant.

***

They were crowded into the kitchen in the mostly-Bright Mooners room, some already showered and changed after their beach excursion and others tracking sand all over the carpet (*cough* Sea Hawk), all rather scandalized at what Bow had just suggested.

“Why are we ordering _pizza_ when we’re at the _beach?_ ” Glimmer shrilled, stretching up on her tiptoes to try to snatch the room phone out of Bow’s hand before he could call the nearest pizza place, to no avail. “That totally defeats the purpose of being here.”

“I’m with Sparkles. Where’s the seafood?” Catra weighed in from her place leaning against the far wall. There was a murmur of general agreement, which Bow tried his best to beat back by waving his hands placatingly. 

“Guys, guys!” he attempted, “We have a reservation at the restaurant downstairs for later in the week. You’ll get your seafood. Plus, it doesn’t defeat the purpose! This is _beach_ pizza!” He made this last statement booming at the top of his lungs.

Before anyone could stop him, Sea Hawk leaped up from his seat at the round dining table and cleared his throat. “My dear Bow, you’ve just inspired in me—”

“ _No,_ ” Mermista groaned loudly, beginning to press on her temples with her hands, but Sea Hawk could not be stopped.

“—a song!”

“Ooh, I love songs!” Scorpia called from the nearby couch, oblivious to the desperate looks of protest from the entire Bright Moon crowd. “Entrapta!” She turned to shake Entrapta out of her iPad-induced trance before announcing, “Sea Hawk’s gonna sing!”

Entrapta blinked her red eyes owlishly as if trying to acclimate to the flesh-and-blood world after a long stint staring into her tablet. Face blank, she asked, “May I inquire into the nature of this singing? I haven’t noticed any song-worthy events thus—”

“I sing for _adventure!_ ” Sea Hawk bellowed, which didn’t really answer the question, but that didn’t seem to be enough to dissuade him from beginning: “ _Ooooohhhhhh…_ ”

“I don’t really think this is necessary—” Perfuma tried to cut in sweetly while Frosta slammed her hands down on the table and yelled, “Stop!” and Mermista just tried to slide so far under the edge that she was invisible.

Adora had just enough time to answer Catra’s incredulous glance with a subtle ‘plug your ears!’ gesture before:

_“True beach pizza is the only pizza fit for you and me~_

__

__

_Our beach pizza; exquisite pizza~”_

“Sea Hawk, you’re killing me,” Mermista cut in.

As Sea Hawk continued his song, joined shortly by an enthusiastic Scorpia (who followed behind his dramatic word choices just half a beat too slow), Bow took the opportunity to phone the pizza restaurant while everyone was distracted. He spoke in hushed tones into the mic, at one point reassuring the pizza employee, “No, yeah, yeah, he’s fine. He’s just excited.”

While Bow placed their order, Frosta leaned over toward Mermista and asked over the continued clamor, “Is he just singing ‘The Krusty Krab Pizza Song’ but in a minor key and pretentious?”

Mermista sighed deeply. “Yes,” she admitted as if the word physically pained her. “Yes he is.”

***

After their questionably beach-themed dinner of pepperoni and cheese pizza (plus a salad for Perfuma), Glimmer suggested they crash in her common room and put on a movie. She probably should have expected the chaos that ensued. 

As soon as someone posed the question of what to watch, a debate erupted between those proponents of action movies (Sea Hawk, Adora, Mermista and Glimmer), supporters of romantic comedies (Scorpia and Bow), and the horror junkies (Frosta and Catra). It got so heated that Perfuma spent a good thirty minutes trying to keep any fists from flying, asserting that the ‘point isn’t the destination, it’s the people you travel with,’ and subsequently trying not to keep her own fists from flying at the disagreeable Catra.

It took Scorpia’s standing up and physically separating the warring parties for the hostility to die down. “Guys, guys,” she soothed, holding Frosta and Glimmer apart by the shoulders. The two continued to glower at each other around her body. “Why don’t we go about this diplomatically? Put each genre in a hat and let’s draw one out. Then it’s fair and square.”

“I fear you’ll be putting the draw-er in grave danger, Scorpia,” Perfuma warned, her hands clasped beneath her chin in worry. She was eyeing Catra’s clawlike nails.

“Oh, come on, guys. We’re supposed to be adults. Can’t we be mature about this?” Scorpia begged.

“ _I’m_ not an adult,” Frosta practically spat, cracking her knuckles menacingly.

Scorpia’s grip on her shoulder tightened as the big girl adopted a look of extreme concern. “That in no way means that you get a pass to beat people up!” she cried. “I didn’t even think that had to be said. _No violence_ is an all-around kind of thing.” She stared at Frosta until the younger girl grunted reluctantly and crossed her arms, looking put out. Then she looked back at the group. “Now. Does anyone have a hat?”

“ _I_ will procure us a hat!” Sea Hawk bellowed for no good reason, making Mermista wince and protect her eardrum with one finger. “Observe!” 

Before anyone could talk him down, Sea Hawk bounded across the room and vaulted the couch where Adora and Catra sat, snatching the black snapback from Catra’s head with a triumphant “Ha-ha!” and then jumping onto the glass coffee table, prize upraised. An immediate chorus of “No!”s, “Hey!”s “ _Sea_ Hawk!”s, and “Give me back my hat, you crazy freak!”s didn’t sway the grin shining from beneath his silky mustache. He remained on his perch with his chest puffed out and the hat clutched in his fist like a precious treasure.

Mermista buried her face in his hands. “ _Why_ did I forget to pack his medicine?”

“That was _not_ really what I expected, but all right!” Scorpia confessed and took the stolen hat from him gingerly. “Let’s do this.” 

She knelt down by the coffee table, which Sea Hawk graciously vacated, and turned over a faded local map to scribble a few words on the back. Once done she tore the sheet into three pieces, folded them, and dropped them into Catra’s hat.

“I never agreed to this,” Catra grumbled, crossing her arms sourly and glaring at Sea Hawk. Adora laughed at her softly and sat up to fix her hair, which was mussed from its sudden disruption. Catra tried to shrug her off.

Their exchange went unnoticed by most, including Scorpia, who stood back up and held out the hat for the drawing. “All right, let’s see…” She turned her head away and reached her free hand into the pot, shuffling around the scraps for a tense moment before pulling one loose. “Everyone ready?”

The majority of the room hung on the edge of their seats for the verdict, but Glimmer was not content with the same. She sprung up and snatched the scrap from Scorpia’s hand, commanding, “Wait! Let me do it.” It was moments like these that the company-boss tendencies her mother possessed showed through, Adora thought. As they all watched, Glimmer unfolded the paper for her eyes only first, anxiously scanning the result. Then:

“Ha!” She punched her hand explosively into the air, flashing the scrap that read Action in Scorpia’s loopy script. “Take that, suckers!” She pointed right at Frosta when she said it and then leaped onto the couch to celebrate her victory.

Chaos reigned again as Glimmer and Sea Hawk danced around and Frosta and Catra groaned mightily and Bow and Perfuma tried to calm everyone down and Scorpia and Adora just laughed helplessly.

At the noise, Entrapta, seated in the recliner in the corner, looked up from her iPad for the first time since dinner. “What’s happening?” she questioned, lifting one side of her headphones from her ear.

Mermista reached over and gently pressed the earpiece back down. “Nothing, E. Go back to the digital realm.”

Scorpia was popping the DVD into the player and shushing everyone as she navigated back to her seat. Bow had the remote control. Before long he had the film starting, and the dissenters had no choice but to shut up or risk having decorative pillows hurled at them by Mermista.

“What even is this?” muttered Catra to Adora as they settled into the couch cushions.

Adora narrowed her eyes at the screen appraisingly. The opening credits had just begun, and a few recognizable names rolled by. “Not sure. It has Tom Cruise in it though.”

“Every action movie has Tom Cruise in it,” the brunette grumbled back. She wriggled into the seat to get comfortable, and her shoulder ended up leaning into Adora’s. They were sharing a light throw blanket just to keep the chill of the ceiling fan out (Glimmer liked to keep the room cold), and Adora couldn’t stop the fleeting notion that they would be able to hold hands under there without anyone noticing.

 _Stop that,_ she scolded herself. Leave Catra alone; she doesn’t want that. Just watch Tom Cruise kick butt.

So, for a while, she did.

At some point during the high-flying, high-speed chasing, high-stakes shooting film, Adora tore her eyes from the screen to look around at her friends. They were scattered around the common room, some on the sofas, a few in the chairs, a few on the carpet, all shoulder-to-shoulder to fit.

Here they all were in one place, old and new, Hordak's Horde and Bright Moon, as if there were nothing dividing them whatsoever. And, for the moment, she figured there wasn’t. They were just a bunch of teens at the beach sharing one last experience together the summer before they all parted ways. They weren’t fighting or bickering or butting heads at the moment. They weren’t plotting or hurting or complaining. They coexisted together. They just _were_ together.

Adora sighed and leaned against the armrest, stretching her legs out beneath the blanket. Her feet were satisfyingly tired after her activities on the beach this afternoon. Her skin was fresh from her recent shower and her dry clothes felt good against it and her eyelids were heavy and she wasn’t sure when last she’d been this comfortable. The tickling urge to hold Catra’s hand crossed her mind again. She quashed it again, instead opting to close her eyes and enjoy her warmth.

She’d almost dozed off by the time Catra stirred and spoke up quietly, so only Adora could hear her under the noise of the film. “Ugh, these spy movies are all the same,” she complained. “Is the villain ever _not_ some snarky, devilishly attractive anti-hero with a turbulent past?”

Adora blinked to clear her bleary eyes replied defensively, “What? That’s plausible. _You’ve_ had a turbulent past, and you’re plenty snarky.”

Catra scoffed. “Surely that’s not the only thing on that list that applies to me.” She slid Adora a suggestive look, a smirk just twitching at her lips.

Adora raised her eyebrows and fought a blush. Catra wasn’t wrong, but she didn’t need to know that. “Are you saying you’d make a good villain?” she challenged.

A sharp canine showed. “That’s up to you, princess.”

Adora blew out what was left of her breath, ruffling Catra’s hair. Yeah, she was definitely bright red. “Just watch the movie, Cruella,” she mumbled, too flustered for a fitting comeback. Why was Catra flirting with her? Wasn’t she still angry?

“Hey! I am not Cruella. I’m, like, Scar. Or Maleficent.”

“Whatever you say,” Adora conceded and hummed a laugh, just glad that they were back on safer ground. Banter was safe. Banter was good. But at the same time, it wasn’t quite enough anymore.

Catra scoffed again, turned her back offendedly and ignored her for a while.

During the next half hour she began almost imperceptibly drooping back against Adora’s body, a little more with each passing minute. Adora found that as Catra’s weight pressed against her further and further, her heart kicked up nervously—so noticeably, she thought, that Catra must have felt it from her position. She chewed her lip and worried, waiting for the inevitable snide comment to come, but it never did. Adora even started to wonder if Catra was feeling well. This silence was unfitting of her. 

Only when Bow caught her attention and whisper-yelled, “Oh my gosh, Adora!” while pointing to Catra did Adora lean forward slightly to peer at the brunette’s face and realize she was asleep.

_Oh._

“Shh! She’s probably faking,” she stage whispered back, stomping out her excitement before it could take root. Bow wiggled his eyebrows, not accepting that at all. Really, neither did Adora, but she needed some reason to convince her brain that wrapping her arms around the snoozing brunette was a bad idea.

She glanced down at Catra tentatively. She was slumped, back against one side of Adora’s chest, with her head tucked under the blonde’s chin. Her wild hair was tickling Adora’s collarbone not unpleasantly. Should Adora wake her? Subtly pull away? She didn’t like either of those options.

What really appealed to her was the notion of subtly pulling _closer,_ but it was also nearly enough to send her into a panic. What would Catra do if she woke up to Adora trying to cuddle her? Adora had a guess, and it involved claws and blood. _Pfft._ Catra wouldn’t do that to her. They were getting better. Right?

Adora flicked a desperate glance toward Bow for advice. The crop-top-loving pacifist had apparently been shooting her sideways grins at regular intervals, and he was in the midst of one of these now when Adora caught his eye. He perked up immediately and elbowed Glimmer to clue her in. Adora groaned inwardly. She was trying to be _subtle_ about this. The less people involved, the better.

But her friends couldn’t be stopped now. She narrowed her eyes to make out their reactions in the flickering light. Bow was making suggestive shooing motions and Glimmer wrinkled her nose and shook her head.

‘What is _that_ supposed to mean?’ she communicated through a glare. Talk about mixed signals.

Bow and Glimmer exchanged a look, realized they were giving Adora opposing advice and quickly entered a heated whisper-argument with each other, leaving the blonde on her own. Adora sighed. In the end, it was all up to her anyway, she reasoned reluctantly.

She looked back down at Catra. The girl was out like a light, breathing steadily, arms crossed loosely over her torso. Her weight on Adora’s chest was comforting more than anything else. It reminded Adora of the nights in Weaver’s orphanage they’d curled up together against the cold or the nightmares or just loneliness in general. Catra hadn’t minded her cuddling back then. Was it really so different now? Maybe they weren’t technically friends now, but they were still Catra and Adora. Maybe Catra was mad at her, but they were still Catra and Adora. Didn’t that count for something? After all, Catra was here. She’d come.

She just came to get rid of me, Adora’s reasonable side told her flatly. But her optimistic side argued, Then how come she just fell asleep on your shoulder?

Adora felt a small smile tug at her lips. She’s literally asleep on my shoulder, she realized. They hadn’t been this close in a year. After Adora left for the Bright Moon magnet program, Catra had effectively cut her off. But now? So much for big, bad, brooding angry-Catra.

Adora raised one hand and carefully brushed a lock of brown hair out of the other girl’s face. Adora was uncomfortably warm, but something in her heart seemed a little lighter. She felt like she knew what to do. Catra had taken a chance on her. So she’d take a chance on Catra.

Her movements were slow and timid as she shifted her arms beneath the blanket and brought them gently round Catra’s slender waist. She rested them just below where Catra’s own arms were crossed. The other girl stirred slightly at the touch and Adora froze, heart in her throat, but Catra only rolled her head to the size so she was practically nuzzled into Adora’s neck and sighed. As she settled again, relief washed through the blonde. 

Still asleep, she thought. No claws and blood just yet. 

Adora leaned her head against Catra’s, feeling tentatively content. They were okay, for now. They were Catra and Adora again, for now. She could live with that.

She looked across at Bow, who was silently cheering, and smiled.

***

Waking up in Adora’s arms was embarrassing to say the least.

Catra was tempted at first to tear away as fast as humanly possible, ideally leaving a few scratch marks behind for good measure, and spout a few choice curses. Then some small, starved part of her implored her to _wait._ You can’t always just run away, it said. After all, wasn’t she trying to give Adora a chance?

Right, she thought. A chance. A stupid second chance. How bad could it be?

So Catra breathed deeply and tried to let the irritated flush fade from her face and the instinct to claw her way out of this dilemma melt away a bit.

When she no longer hovered on the brink of a violent meltdown, she looked around. She and Adora were the only ones left in the main room. It was dark except for the yellowish stove light in the kitchen and the ambient coastline glow from beyond the balcony. Apparently no one had woken them after the movie ended, even though they were kind of in Sea Hawk’s sleeping space. They must have all definitely seen them, though, which is what made her nervous.

Was it really that bad though? I mean, cuddling could be a sort-of-maybe-friends-again thing, right? 

Biting her lip, Catra let her gaze fall to where Adora’s arms were curved loosely around her stomach. The blonde was propped partially back against the armrest and Catra was basically curled up against her chest like a touch-starved toddler, her nose in Adora’s hair. Yeah, she groaned inwardly. It was pretty bad.

 _How_ had she ended up like this? She was definitely not cuddling with Adora when she drifted off. Or, well—not _much_. She’d kind of been leaning against her shoulder but it was a harmless sort of thing and she didn’t mean for it to end up like…like this. Definitely not.

But still! Not her fault! Adora was the one with her stupid arms wrapped around her, anyway.

She wondered if Adora had started holding her before she fell asleep, or after. That was the important tidbit. That would mean all the difference.

Because if Adora had known what she was doing…once again Catra wasn’t quite ready to face what that meant. She was confused enough all on her own, let alone with Adora actively making things more complicated. Well, more than she already did. More than she had for, like, Catra’s entire life.

So Catra had _kind of_ been _probably_ more attached to Adora than was strictly platonic throughout their entire childhood. And maybe she _sort of_ never got over that and she was still _maybe_ really attracted to Adora and got _a little_ very much flustered whenever Adora showed the same and _possibly_ stared at her like a lot. But that didn’t mean she was prepared to openly admit that to Adora. Or withstand a confession from the opposite side, for that matter. Not that Adora was likely to give one. This was probably just a fluke. Probably an accident.

Probably something Catra shouldn’t get worked up about. Or get a really warm feeling in her chest about. Or start to feel a hitch in her breath about, or freaking _lean into_ and lay her head back onto Adora’s chest and cover her hands with her own and breathe in her faint scent and—

I am so screwed, Catra thought as she let her eyes drift closed again.

Adora as a pillow was too comfortable for her to find it in herself to care.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to fluff city


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don some protective eyewear

They went to the beach early the next morning. 

Thankfully no one commented on the little _situation_ Adora and Catra had gotten themselves into last night, though Catra felt sure everyone was staring holes in her back as they all trekked down to the sand. She was walking as far from Adora as she could, just in case the blonde tried to chat her up. She wasn’t ready to talk about what had happened. She wasn’t ready for Adora to see how close Catra really was to forgiving her. She was torn between holding onto her deep-seated resentment and letting herself feel whatever it was she felt for Adora, and right now she was way more comfortable with the resentment. Who cared if Adora shot her hurt, confused glances every few minutes?

They set up just above the high-tide line on a stretch of sand just parallel to their condo, unpacking Mermista’s big blue canopy (where had that been yesterday?) and laying out towels. The sand was cool underfoot, giving the illusion of wading through shallow water. The sun had not risen far above the horizon yet, so the lounge chairs and umbrellas set up in long rows down the beach were casting long blue shadows. Altogether, it was much more comfortable than yesterday’s climate had been. Catra even ventured down to the water’s edge to get her feet wet in the morning-chilled surf. She still wouldn’t look at Adora.

The others gradually scattered to their own activities once the canopy was set up. Bow unslung some contraption from his back and unrolled it to reveal a heart-shaped kite. If the brisk, salty breeze held he would have no trouble at all getting it to fly, Catra figured.

Glimmer was near him as usual, wearing that same dumb Bright Moon-esque bathing suit. She fished briefly in her bright-pink cooler and brought out some canned drink that may or may not have been alcoholic. That little detail gave Catra an odd surge of appreciation for the girl that she quickly swatted down—the same as the one she’d felt while tormenting Adora on the ride down. She couldn’t be over here starting to _like_ the enemy, now could she? Glimmer seemed to feel Catra’s gaze on her and shot her a narrow-eyed look, which helped to dash any feelings of potential alliance. Then the petite puffball headed down to the water’s edge and strolled in the opposite direction, drink in hand, beginning to dig with her toes for shells.

Frosta saw her go and hopped up to follow her, leaving Catra wondering what exactly the connection was between those two girls. Frosta seemed a quiet, negative, frankly frosty young girl and it was inconceivable that she’d want to spend time with Glimmer, who was exactly the opposite. Yet there they were, shell-hunting side by side, natural as anything. As Catra watched Frosta lunged for the drink in Glimmer’s hand and Glimmer gave her a healthy shove in the face to ward her off. That reminded her of herself and Adora, and she couldn’t help but crack a smile. Maybe it wasn’t _completely_ inconceivable that two polar opposites would enjoy each other’s company. Not that she enjoyed Adora’s company.

A ways down the beach ahead of Glimmer and Frosta, Sea Hawk was setting up a fishing pole and a big five-gallon bucket, casting furtive glances over his shoulders the whole time. Catra wondered what his problem was until she followed his gaze and realized that Perfuma was only a few dozen yards away, eco-spidey-senses likely turned on high. She figured Sea Hawk didn’t have too much to worry about, since he was probably a terrible fisherman in the first place.

Perfuma wasn’t paying attention to him anyway, occupied as she was with wading out into the water with her paddleboard at her hip, Entrapta not far behind. The two of them fought the halfhearted waves until they reached a calm stretch where even Entrapta could stand comfortably on the sand bar. There Perfuma climbed onto her paddleboard, graceful as a gazelle, and propelled herself a little further out as if to protect her companion from the open ocean. Curiously enough, Entrapta hadn’t even dared go near the water until now. Catra had to wonder if it was Perfuma who had coaxed her out, or the prospect of encountering strange new sea life. Based on the snorkeling mask she was just now donning, it may just have been the latter, but Catra didn’t really want to accept that. Sue her for being a closeted sap.

As she watched, the techie evidently stepped off the far edge of the sand bar, because one moment she was snorkeling away in hip-deep water and the next she was in up to her ears and splashing frantically to stay afloat. Catra’s first instinct was to laugh. Her second was to wonder bitterly _where’s Adora to save the day?_ and only after that did she think to be concerned. Entrapta’s squawks of terror carried across the water over the sound of the waves and her lilac head disappeared and reappeared in turns. There was an awful lot of splashing going on. Catra felt her heart clench with a pang of fear. Could she seriously not swim?

Catra had just started towards her to maybe lend aid when Perfuma arrived on the scene. She pulled up her paddleboard beside the floundering girl and helped her cling on while the two of them floated back toward the center of the sand bar. Crisis averted, Perfuma began scolding Entrapta and Entrapta protested back and the details of their exchange were lost to the ocean except a loud, “But the specimen was all the way from _Brazil!_ ”

Right. Brazil. Because that was worth drowning for.

Catra sighed and left the mad genius and the flower girl to their own devices, turning to wade back to solid ground. She didn’t have the constitution right now to wait around for Entrapta’s next debacle.

As she stepped out onto the shore her gaze wandered up to the stretch of level sand dunes where Adora, Mermista, and Scorpia were gathered around what looked like a tiny trampoline. A ball was bouncing between them from their hands to the trampoline and back, which didn’t seem that interesting, but Adora was just as fiercely competitive as always. She kept slamming the ball down with so much force that it rebounded over the others’ shoulders, which must have been a good thing for her because she cheered every time it happened. Or, maybe she just didn’t know how to play the game, Catra inferred from Mermista’s sour looks.

Catra was left alone again, which she didn’t really mind, she figured as she reached the canopy and stretched out on her belly on Scorpia’s towel. It gave her a kind of freedom to do whatever she wanted, and right now that entailed watching Adora hop around like a fool in her red and gray two-piece, golden hair shining pale in the morning sun, beating down her friends at sports the way she did best.

Watching to make fun of her, of course. That’s why she hid behind her sunglasses again to hide her stare, even though it was still shady under the canopy. Naturally.

It was hard to stay displeased with the silly blonde jock when she was so adorably embarrassing herself in front of everyone, as carefree as the oceanside breeze. Catra still tried. She needed someone to blame for the confusion she was still feeling over their little lapse last night. 

Adora dove into the dunes to save a runaway bounce and came back up grinning, her body sparkling in a coat of sand like a classical marble statue.

Catra still tried, she really did.

“Hey!” Mermista’s voice cut over the roar and rustle of the ocean, interrupting her thoughts. When everyone’s heads had turned in her direction the mermaid girl raised an arm to point across the sand. “The volleyball net just opened up.”

“Ooh!” Bow cried, turning to sprint toward her, kite trailing behind. “I feel a volleyball tournament coming on!”

A smattering of other Bright Mooners joined Bow’s enthusiastic march toward the now-free volleyball court at the top of the beach, nearest the sea grass. At their head jogged Adora. Of course. “Do we have a ball?” she called out to Bow as he reached the net.

“Those dudebros left one over here!” he replied, hefting the ball in question and looking around with a cheerful smile. “Who wants to play?”

Glimmer had been crossing the sand to join him, but now she looked over her shoulder out to sea, where Perfuma and Entrapta were still floating at the sand bar. She cupped her hands round her mouth and shrilled over the ocean noise: “Guys! Volleyball tournament!”

Perfuma raised her head at the shout, but then she just waved. Apparently she and Entrapta were content to sit this one out. Catra couldn’t blame them; their bodies would both probably snap at the slightest impact.

Everyone else, on the other hand, was crowding around the net like a flock of seagulls tossed a single crust of bread. Even Frosta, who was definitely not an athletic type, had followed Glimmer to join the game. They began splitting into teams without provocation. It was a little concerning how the Bright Mooners plus Scorpia all operated like a single, glittery hive mind. That’s why, when Adora looked across and noticed Catra still laid out under the canopy and yelled, “Catra! Come join us,” Catra didn’t feel the slightest hint of temptation to do so.

Instead she propped herself up on one elbow, gave Adora a narrow-eyed once over and jabbed, “What, do you play volleyball too?”

The note of bitterness in her tone went right over Adora’s head and she responded brightly, “No! It’s just a hobby. I only do soccer. And swim.”

“And tennis,” Glimmer, who had naturally drifted over to Adora’s side, pointed out.

“Well, that was just for one year. I’m not really counting that.”

“And travel softball,” Bow’s voice chimed in from the other side of the net. 

Softball? Man, these snobby little preps were so _annoying!_ Did _all_ of them know Adora better than Catra did now?

“That was only one summer!” Adora was protesting. Her face was growing pink under all the attention from her friends, but Catra figured she was loving it regardless. Leave it to Adora to manipulate everyone into praising her. Just like she’d always done. Maybe that was why she liked hanging out with the Bright Moon crowd so much. Were they all really so gullible?

“And track,” Glimmer added. Apparently so.

“Don’t tell Coach, but I really only did track to train endurance for soccer,” Adora mumbled, kicking absently at the sand beneath her.

“And—”

“All right, all right, I get it,” Catra finally burst out. She’d spent too much of her lifetime hearing how great Adora was to withstand it now. “Sorry I asked.”

Adora looked genuinely embarrassed. Her friends, apparently offended at being interrupted, wandered off to mill around their teammates while the blonde tried again: “So you don’t want to play?”

“Nope,” Catra shot back, popping her _p_ deliberately.

Adora didn’t know when to give up. Looks like that hadn’t changed either. “But we’ll have odd teams!” she insisted. “We need one more person.”

Catra shrugged indifferently. “Why don’t you just kick Glitzy off the court?”

“Ugh, I heard that!” Glimmer snapped.

Adora didn’t pay her any attention. She was still looking at Catra, and that dumb puppy-dog look had come into her eyes, and Catra felt really irritated and really guilty all at once. The blonde was barely short of clasping her hands pleadingly beneath her chin when she whined, “Please, Catra?”

Catra curled her lip and looked away adamantly. Don’t fall for it, she warned herself. “I’m not playing.”

“That’s okay, Adora!” Bow chirped before Adora could open her mouth to argue further. “Sea Hawk and Mermista and I can definitely take you guys.”

Adora was obviously not mollified, but Catra had rolled onto her back to deliberately cut off any more chance for conversation. “Okay,” the jock sighed in defeat. Catra heard her footsteps retreating through the sand, and then they inevitably paused. “Let me know if you change your mind,” she practically begged.

Catra hummed a halfhearted acknowledgement with no intention of doing so. She was feeling a wicked sort of pleasure at disappointing Adora. _Doesn’t feel so great, does it?_ she gloated internally.

It just sucked that part of her ached with regret, too.

Whatever. She’d earned this.

Catra lay back on the towel and stretched languorously before closing her eyes, half hoping Adora was still gazing longingly after her to see it. She didn’t hope for long, though. The morning air was pleasant against her skin and the sand beneath the towel cushioned her back and she was soon drifting rapidly toward sleep.

***

She didn’t know how long it was until she opened her eyes again, but when she rolled over with a groan to take inventory of the volleyball game, it looked as if the tournament had been in full swing for a while. Everyone was looking a bit disheveled and sunburned (except Frosta, who had loaded up with sunscreen again), and the sand of the court had been flattened all over.

Overhead the sun was high in the sky, which was no longer a pale morning color but vibrantly blue and blazing hot. Catra was glad she’d fallen asleep under the canopy or she’d be looking just as crispy as the Bright Mooners. Still, it was hot, and Catra cast a jealous glance toward the nearby ocean.

Her eyes landed on Adora’s skimboard, buried tail-first in the sand and standing upright so the sun glared off its shiny rainbow surface.

Catra pursed her lips.

She looked subtly back toward the volleyball court, where everyone was pretty well occupied. They were far enough away that they wouldn’t notice her going down to the water’s edge. Or, potentially, skimboarding.

She admitted grudgingly to herself that maybe yesterday when Adora offered her the skimboard she hadn’t _totally_ hated the idea of trying. Her balance was good, and she’d always thought surfing and skateboarding and all those things were cool. Skimboarding was like the next best thing. It was just the fact that everyone (and Adora in particular) would have been standing around _watching_ that rubbed her the wrong way. Now, though, they were all too absorbed in their dumb volleyball game to pay her any mind.

She looked the board up and down thoroughly.

It couldn’t hurt, could it?

Before she knew it Catra was easing herself stealthily off of Scorpia’s towel and creeping out toward the dune where the skimboard stood. Once out from under the canopy, the sun was punishing and the sand promptly began scorching the bottoms of Catra’s feet. She hurried forward toward the relief of the ocean, throwing one more cautious glance over her shoulder toward the Bright Mooners. They still weren’t looking. She snatched the board as she passed and scrambled down the slope to the water.

She sighed in relief when her soles met the soothing surf. Her heart was pounding as if she’d made some great escape, and suddenly looking down at the board in her hands Catra wondered what the heck she was doing.

Who the heck cares? was her next thought, as long as those dumb Bright Mooners don’t see me.

So Catra walked out a little ways into the water, the skimboard propped against her hip, and prepared to _do_ this stupid thing.

Standing there watching the remnants of the gulf waves wash shallowly over the wet sand, Catra realized that she didn’t actually know what she was looking for. She didn’t really know how to do this, period. Watching Adora try it yesterday only taught her what _not_ to do. But that was better than nothing, she supposed. Might as well make do with what she had.

There, that wave looked right. It left just a couple of inches of water grazing the beach in a nice skimmable puddle and she figured this was a good a time as any, so she started into a tentative run and threw down the board just ahead of her and jumped on and—

She fell.

The sand was soft enough that she just jarred her tailbone instead of bruising anything really badly, but Catra still let out a growl of displeasure. The skimboard had shot off into the nearest breaker and lost its momentum on the crest, and now it floated innocently back toward her. She glared at it as she shook the seawater out of her hair.

If at first you don’t succeed, she figured.

She rose from the shallows and hiked up her swim trunks as they dripped water down her legs, then waded over to pluck the board out of the surf. She lined herself up for another try.

She fell the next time. And the next many times after that, in fact. It was thoroughly unenjoyable to land on her rear in the sodden sand time after time, spluttering and swearing as the waves drove saltwater into her sinuses, and yet Catra didn’t stop trying. She kept on grinding because despite the pain and the punishment, there was an element of satisfaction in doing a little bit better each time; staying on her feet just a little bit longer before the ocean inevitably took her down. There was a thrill in doing something cool and challenging, and even though it was embarrassing to take spill after spill in front of the Panama City tourist population, Catra kind of loved it.

On her twentieth run, Catra hopped onto the board, skimmed along breathlessly for a good five seconds, and then _didn’t_ fall.

She let out a whoop of triumph as she hopped off the board into the ankle-deep surf. For a moment all she could do was grin up at the watching sun and think _heck yeah, mofo_ and bask in the pleasure of her success.

Then someone laughed behind her.

It wasn’t a mean laugh; rather one of happy disbelief, but still Catra whirled around as if someone had just hurled her an insult, her heart kicking into overdrive.

Adora was standing there just down the slope from Mermista’s tent, hands on her hips, absolutely grinning at her like an idiot. “You did it!” she cried, laughing brightly again. “I can’t believe it!”

A torrent of conflicting emotions rushed over Catra like the unforgiving waves. She was annoyed that Adora had been watching and offended at the implication that her success was so unbelievable, but at the same time she felt just so _smug_ that she’d beaten Adora at something and that feeling easily won out. “You never did have too much faith in me,” she drawled, flashing one canine in a sarcastic smile. She stepped on the tail of the skimboard as the waves moved out, and the undertow flipped the nose up into her waiting hand. Man, was she glad Adora saw _that_ and not her busting her butt the first twenty tries.

Adora’s glittering blue eyes were wide and impressed and it warmed Catra to the core. Yeah, Adora, she thought with satisfaction, I can win, too. 

“Do it again,” the jock urged eagerly.

And Catra was definitely going to end this on _her_ terms, not Adora’s, so she let her grin widen gloatingly and replied, “No, I don’t think I will.”

***

Once they’d worn themselves out at the beach, there was a general consensus to begin heading back to the condo. Catra’s eyes lazily sought out Adora as they walked, as per usual, though she wouldn’t have admitted to it if someone asked. The blonde was pacing ahead of the group, skimboard tucked under her arm, which wasn’t surprising in any way. Then something odd happened. Just as she got off the boardwalk, instead of turning onto the pool deck to take the shortcut inside, she inexplicably broke off from the rest of the crowd and headed for the far side of the building. She did it without so much of a murmur to anyone else, and Catra was suddenly seized by intense curiosity. Was Adora doing something _bad?_ Was she trying to sneak away, albeit in full daylight?

She glanced left and right to see if anyone had noticed, but it seemed the rest of their crowd was unconcerned. They were chatting amongst themselves and toweling off as they crossed the deck to the building and none of them even seemed to notice that Adora was missing. Were they all really that oblivious?

Well, if no one was paying attention, then Catra might as well find out what was going on. It crossed her mind that it might look suspicious if she and Adora were both discovered to be gone at the same time, but her itching desire to possibly embarrass the dumb jock outweighed her qualms.

Curiosity killed the cat, she supposed, and broke off subtly to trail after Adora’s retreating back.

The blonde led her unknowingly across the parking lot and around the base of the towering blue condo to the garages tucked underneath. Here there wasn’t much cover, since the decorative brickwork ringing the ground level was full of holes, so Catra was forced to hang back for a moment. It was fine, she decided, since she could still spy on the golden girl through the gaps in the stones. She settled in at the corner of the building to do so and was annoyed to find that it was too dark inside to make out anything clearly. What could Adora possibly be doing in there? Renting a car? _Stealing_ a car? More likely she had just left something in Bow’s van, which made Catra feel sheepish. How was she supposed to pass off spying on Adora if this whole thing turned out to be just some mundane errand?

Cursing inwardly, she seriously considered just turning around and walking away now.

Then she heard Adora’s voice just inside and the light clingy cadence of thin tires on concrete coming toward her and it was too late for her to get away, so she leaned herself against the brickwork as casually as she could and braced herself.

Adora came riding out of the garage opening on a sporty red bicycle and as soon as she laid eyes on Catra the brunette met her with a sultry, _totally_ casual “Hey, Adora.”

The tires skidded on the asphalt of the parking lot as Adora pulled to a quick stop. She looked pleasantly surprised, but nowhere near enough for Catra to be satisfied. Why hadn’t she jumped out of her skin at the sight of her? She hadn’t been _expecting_ Catra to follow her, had she? And what was the bike all about, anyway?

“Hi,” the blonde greeted her calmly. She was smiling as if it were totally acceptable and maybe even cute that she’d just discovered Catra spying on her. She gestured to the space between her handlebars and asked, “Want to ride with me?”

“I—okay?” Catra was too confused to put up a fight. She crossed the blacktop to Adora’s newfound bike and eyed it distrustfully.

“Just hop on,” Adora invited. “I’ve got you.” Indeed, she had planted her feet firmly on either side of the vehicle and it barely even wobbled when Catra tentatively hoisted herself up to sit on the handlebars, settling her bare feet on the front axle. For some reason Catra’s heart had picked up a little at those words, or maybe the realization that she now had her butt situated well in front of Adora’s face, or maybe just the fact that she was now at the mercy of the blonde’s balance, which she knew was lacking.

She cleared her throat and tried to push the feeling down. As Adora pushed off and began pedaling carefully down the lane toward the outlet to Front Beach Road, Catra ventured to ask, “Where are we going?”

“Pink Pelican,” Adora replied, leaning a bit around Catra’s body to keep her eyes trained on the road. Her balance was holding so far.

Catra tried to hold very still to make for the easiest burden possible. “What’s that?”

“Ice cream.”

“Oh.” Now she felt stupid. The group must have made plans to go out while she wasn’t listening. That’s why no one seemed concerned that Adora wandered off; they must be meeting up soon. Her heart sank slightly at the notion and she ignored it. She was _not_ going to be disappointed that she and Adora weren’t going on some clandestine little excursion together. Trying to sound casual, she asked, “So where’s everyone else?”

“Oh, I, uh…you're the only one.”

Well, that was unexpected. _Trying to get me alone, Adora?_ crossed her mind, but she was honestly so surprised that she instead asked with genuine curiosity, “How did you know I would follow you?”

“I didn’t,” Adora admitted. Catra didn’t want to sabotage her balance by turning to look at her, but she imagined the blonde to be blushing. “I just hoped.”

Talking like this, not being able to face each other, lent Catra a feeling of something like recklessness. Against all her better judgment, she risked asking, “So this isn’t a date or anything, right?”

Adora was silent for a beat and Catra feared she’d just screwed up big time. But then the athlete spoke and her voice was soft and shy. “Depends on whether you want it to be.”

Well, that was _very_ unexpected. Catra felt relief and surprise and anticipation and nervousness all well up in her chest and she had to swallow hard to keep them from climbing her throat too. She couldn’t think of anything suave or fittingly teasing to say, so she just conceded, “All right, then, Adora.”

Another silence ensued. For maybe five minutes Adora pedaled in silence, guiding them across the main street when it was clear and bumping up onto the sidewalk on the other side without a hitch. Pushing the two of them must have been difficult, but the muscular girl handled it easily. The noise of the passing cars and the distant ocean had been the only sounds for a while before Adora spoke up awkwardly. ”So, uh—do you?”

“Shh…just drive,” Catra teased her, grinning widely where Adora could not see. Though this may have been an unexpected turn of events, it was definitely not a bad one, she thought. She was too quietly giddy to even make herself mad at Adora like usual.

“That would be a lot easier if your butt weren’t blocking my view,” the blonde grumbled good-naturedly.

Catra laughed and resisted the temptation to show Adora _just_ how distracting her butt could be, instead quipping, “I thought you liked a challenge.”

Adora let out a chuckle of her own. “Unfortunately.”

Oh, man, Catra thought breathlessly. What was that supposed to mean? She wasn’t quite ready for the weight of that question to catch up with her. She wasn’t quite ready to think about what was happening, period. So instead she let herself float in a kind of pleasurable haze as she rode along in Adora’s charge, feeling the sun on her face and the wind in her hair as acutely as if they were the only things in the world. 

They pulled up at the ice cream place before long. It was a little hole-in-the-wall shop in the midst of a plaza lined with stores just like it, and Catra absently wondered how Adora had found it in the first place. The only thing setting the little stucco storefront apart from any other was its sign aptly reading _Pink Pelican_ in bright pink, complete with a pair of pastel pelicans themselves.

Adora let Catra hop off her handlebars before parking the bike outside against a metal picnic bench, apparently unconcerned that anyone would take it. The two of them headed inside and were taken aback first by the blast of cool air that met their faces, and then by the sheer number of options advertised on the board above the counter.

“Wow,” Adora said, staring at the cramped print with a bit of a shellshocked look on her face, “I’m never going to be able to decide.”

She did decide, in the end, and then they went to sit at a neat little corner table. Adora got pistachio, which Catra thought was gross, and Catra got mint, which Adora thought was gross, but they were almost exactly the same color so Catra switched their bowls while Adora was distracted and cackled as the blonde gagged on her next bite.

“I hate you,” Adora spat as she reclaimed her bowl and shoveled the correct flavor into her mouth to chase away the offending mint.

“No, you don’t,” Catra shot back immediately, still laughing.

Adora paused in her devouring of the frozen treat. She looked at Catra oddly and a grin was flickering at her lips. “No,” she agreed, her blue eyes sparkling, “I guess you’re right.”

Catra got so warm she was afraid she might melt her ice cream. Just to steer the subject back onto safer ground, she asked casually, “Hey, so who won your dumb volleyball tournament?”

“Well, my team,” Adora admitted, turning a bit pink in her modesty. She stirred her ice cream for a second before looking up and saying quickly, “It wasn’t ‘cause of me, though. Did you know Scorpia is actually a _bomb_ volleyball player?”

Catra chuckled and threw her arm comfortably over the back of her metal cafe chair. “Not surprising. She’s like six and a half feet tall,” she remarked. Then her lip curled wryly. “Also, did you just say ‘bomb?’ What have they been teaching you over at Bright Moon?” She reached across the table and poked Adora in the forehead as if she might be brain damaged.

“Not how to play volleyball, that’s for sure,” Adora shot back, wrinkling her nose against Catra’s touch. Then her eyes went wide in sudden excited recall and she sat forward pointedly. “Or skimboarding, for that matter! You were amazing earlier! I thought you didn’t want to try?”

Catra slid her gaze away shyly under Adora’s praise. “I didn’t want to try while you were _watching,_ ” she corrected, studying her long black nails very intently.

“Aw, you don’t have to worry about that, Catra. I wouldn’t laugh at you,” Adora said, and the brunette could feel those earnest ocean eyes on her. “—much.” Catra glowered, and Adora lifted her hands in surrender. “Seriously though,” she assured in a gentler tone, “You can be comfortable with me, okay?”

Catra’s eyes fell again. Her face was warm and she was sure Adora must be able to see her flush, so she bent her head over her ice cream. It was half-melted even under the air conditioning, but Catra liked it that way. She concentrated on that useless detail so she wouldn’t have to face the storm of thoughts and feelings currently trying to suffocate her. Why did Adora have to be so freaking _tender_ and hard to hate? At this rate, Catra would soon be admitting to _wanting_ to go on unexpected dates with her. Not that she did.

Except she did.

“I…” She wasn’t really sure how to answer. She figured that the best option might just be the truth for once. “I know.”

Adora broke into a tentative smile, and Catra found herself smiling back.

Yeah, she was definitely melting her ice cream.

***

“Board games!” Bow announced heartily later that night, reaching into a pocket of his massive gold suitcase and drawing out a stack of colorful boxes that by all means should _not_ have fit in there. He sorted through them, laying them out on the Keston common room table as he rattled off: “I brought Clue, Uno, and this weird thing George bought that looked cool but I have no idea how to play.”

Glimmer groaned and slumped against him, whining, “Why didn’t you bring Cards Against Humanity?” She was sitting on the floor beside Bow, who knelt at the coffee table so as not to block the TV from those watching. Friends was on, which currently held the attention of about half the crowd.

Bow rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. “I figured it might be, uh, questionable to play while Frosta is around,” he confessed.

“Pfft, that’s like, my favorite game,” the girl in question scoffed. “It’s Perfuma you should be worried about.”

“Hm?” Perfuma tore her gaze away from the television for the first time and perked up instantly, leaning over the table with her hands clasped beneath her chin. Her eyes ran over the game titles before she asked, “Ooh, what’s Clue?”

“A murder mystery,” Bow said with a conspiratorial waggle of his eyebrows. “I’ll show you how to play, if everyone’s up for Clue?” He staged that last statement as a question, looking around the table for approval. No one argued, so he began setting out the gameboard.

“Okay, Perfuma,” he started in a businesslike tone as he placed figurines in various sections of the board, “so, you have this little list of people, weapons and rooms—” He paused to hand her one. “—and you’re trying to mark things off the list to solve the murder by process of elimination. You can mark off the cards in your hand right away, and the rest you figure out by guessing one of each category on your turn and seeing if another person can prove you wrong with a card from their deck…” He moved on to dealing the cards, and everyone took a stack except Entrapta, who was absorbed in fiddling with what looked like the TV remote, and Catra.

“I’ll just watch,” the brunette said, waving him off when he offered.

Adora, who was sitting against the foot of the couch beneath her, cast a look of annoyance over her shoulder. “No, you won’t.”

Catra gave nothing but a wry smirk in response and returned her attention to the TV.

Bow continued dealing and explaining until everyone had their cards and lists and Perfuma was marginally clued in, as it were. Then he looked up again, and there was a puppy-like eagerness in his eyes. “Are we ready?”

“Let’s do this thing,” Scorpia replied, matching his enthusiasm.

“Youngest goes first,” Mermista declared and passed the die to Frosta.

The brisk young girl didn’t even shake the die in her hand, but simply chucked it onto the board, where it knocked over the candle holder and landed on 6 with a decided _plop_. She hopped her figurine (Mrs. White, to no one’s surprise) into the nearest room and said loudly, “I accuse Professor Plum, in the ballroom with the lead pipe.”

Everyone was effectively shocked into silence for a beat. Then Bow ventured, “Uh…did you mean you guess?”

“No. I accuse. Final answer,” Frosta stated, sitting back and crossing her arms.

“You know if you’re wrong you’re out, right?” Adora cautioned.

Frosta met the blonde’s eyes and hers were like chips of black ice. “What is life if not lived on the edge?” she proposed enigmatically. Adora balked.

“That’s, um…okay,” Glimmer looked like she wanted to argue, but just shrugged instead and waved a hand at the ‘answers’ envelope in the center. “Go ahead and look, I guess.”

Frosta did so, and then sighed explosively and threw the envelope back down. “Dang it!” Everyone stared at her. She’d just thrown the game on the very first turn.

Mermista found her voice first. “What the heck, Frosta?” she drawled, one dark eyebrow arched in some semblance of curiosity.

Frosta jumped to her feet and climbed over Mermista and Sea Hawk to claim the armchair in the corner, whose armrest was taken up by a preoccupied Entrapta. “Now I can escape without seeming antisocial!” she laughed triumphantly.

Mermista rolled her eyes painfully hard. “I bet BattleBots is on.”

Indeed, Frosta leaned in to consult briefly with Entrapta, who was screwing the remote back together. “Finished!” the Keston grad chirped almost immediately, holding up the resulting gadget. The TV remote had a few new extra wires spiraling out of it and a few buttons missing, and nobody was brave enough to ask what exactly she’d done to it. She pointed it at the TV and suddenly Friends disappeared and sure enough, BattleBots began playing, despite it usually being on an inaccessible channel.

“Hey! I was in the middle of that,” Catra shrieked, flipping over to face the techie and her compatriot faster than anyone could blink. Her teeth were bared and there was fire in her blue-and-gold eyes, but Entrapta didn’t even spare her a glance.

“Majority rules,” she said simply, watching raptly as Tombstone demolished another competitor onscreen.

Catra was in grave danger of throttling her schoolmate when Adora stepped into the path of her anger instead. “I didn’t take you for a Friends fan, Catra,” the blonde teased smugly.

Rage and then betrayal and then resigned disgust flitted over Catra’s features. “Whatever,” she huffed, rolling back onto her belly and leaning over the blonde’s shoulder to give Clue a once-over. “What’s happening? Is Adora losing?”

Coincidentally, it was Adora’s turn and she’d just rolled a 1. Again. Her Miss Scarlett figurine was still in the hallway while everyone else had been in play for several turns. Instead of answering Catra, she groaned dramatically and begged, “Someone freaking guess me so I can get to a room.”

Mermista was next. She rolled, looked Adora in the eye, and said, “No, I don’t think I will.” She then proceeded to guess Bow out of the room he’d been guessing for a good three turns. He groaned, but not as loud as Adora.

Catra cackled in delight. “Wow, you’re terrible at this.”

“It’s not my fault! The dice is broken,” Adora fumed.

“The singular of dice is die,” Entrapta chimed in absently, which only fanned the flames of Adora’s frustration.

“ _I’m_ going to die if I don’t get into a freaking room already,” she bawled over the sound of Catra’s continued laughter.

She did not get into a freaking room on the next turn. Or the one after that. In fact, she didn’t get anywhere until after a realization by Perfuma which went something like this:

“Oh!” The flower girl’s sudden gasp made several of them jump. Her dark eyes had gone very wide and she was looking between the board and her cards as if they had just revealed to her an earth-shattering secret. “Can I guess two of my own cards to figure out a missing piece?”

Mermista’s facepalm was audible.

“That’s called bluffing,” Bow explained sheepishly, as if he were embarrassed for her.

“And it’s like 90% of the game,” Glimmer added in a less understanding tone.

“Oh.”

In any case, she guessed Adora into a room, but the benefit was pretty much forfeit by the fact that Perfuma was bluffing.

“So I’m most likely not in a room that will not do me any good,” the blonde sighed. “Great.”

Perfuma was quick to console her. “I never said the _room_ was one of my cards!”

“Perfuma. You stink at bluffing," Adora said with barely concealed irritation. 

“You’ve got to learn to be a better liar,” Catra cut in to agree matter-of-factly, studying her black nails with more than a little self-satisfaction.

Adora gave her a dark look. “You would know.”

Catra flashed her nails at her just a bit more threateningly. After that, though, she lost interest in both the game and the TV and settled back in the pillows to sleep.

In the next few times around the table, Adora got in exactly three guesses before she decided to head back into the hallway and rolled _yet_ another 1. She immediately flopped back against the foot of the couch and let her head loll back against the seat cushion, squeezing her breath out in a long stream like a deflating bike tire. “Oh my gosh,” she hissed halfway through her lung capacity. “I literally _cannot._ ” 

Mermista seemed to finally cave under the girl’s dramatic lamentations. “Here, I’ll guess you,” she volunteered in the fashion of a saving saint, finally moving Adora’s gamepiece out of the hallway. 

Adora sat up fast, lunging over the table to stop Mermista’s hand, too late. “No, that’s the wrong way!” she cried. “I don’t want to be in the library!”

The next few moments were chaos. Mermista made her guess, laughing the whole time, and then the turn shifted to Sea Hawk and he promptly leaped up onto the table to make his accusation—accusation, not a guess!—and when he was correct, Adora pitched a small fit and Bow and Glimmer tried to hold her back from pushing Sea Hawk off the table and more than one of them ended up sprawled on the floor.

When she had composed herself enough to communicate in words instead of war cries, Adora vented, “I _knew_ what it was, but Mermista freaking guessed me to the other side of the board and Sea Hawk full-on sniped me!”

Mermista was smiling like a cat who’d just stumbled onto a nest of sleeping mice. “Yeah, I did that on purpose, princess,” she said smugly. “Get wrecked.”

“You mean you helped me win on purpose?” Sea Hawk said in a hushed, wondering voice. They could all practically see the stars glowing to life in his eyes as he reached out toward Mermista reverently and opened his mouth to shower her with praise.

“Ew, no,” she tried to deflect, but he was already gushing loudly, “ _Thank_ you, darling! I am ever in your debt!” and trying to compose a song to convey the depth of his gratitude. 

It was a while until things quieted down.

***

The clock showed 11:09 pm. Very few of them would have usually regarded that as ‘way past bedtime,’ but as exhausted as they were from their half a day on the beach and warlike game of Clue, it may as well have been 3 am. They scattered gradually as their eyelids began to droop. 

Perfuma was the first one to bid the others good night and retreat to the balcony, gliding across the carpet in her floral nightshirt like a ghost. Next went Mermista carrying a loudly snoring Sea Hawk toward the Bright Moon suite. Frosta and Entrapta, who had bonded famously over BattleBots over the course of the game, relocated to the kitchen table to set up their computers and headsets for a late-night gaming session. Catra had fallen asleep right where she was, sprawled across the couch, and no one dared wake her.

Bow, Glimmer, Adora and Scorpia were left sitting on the floor around the coffee table, helping Bow pack up the Clue pieces. They worked in comfortable silence together as if they’d been comrades their whole lives. It was nice, really, to feel as though there had never been any rivalry between them, school or otherwise. Scorpia was in fact beaming to herself the whole time, and that wasn’t a strange occurrence for her but it seemed out of place enough that Adora thought to inquire. She had just opened her mouth to ask her what was up when she said abruptly, “Hey guys? Thank you all for letting me come. I know the whole Bright Moon/Keston situation is a little, you know, awkward, but I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you all.” Ah, so that’s what it was about. Scorpia looked up from the restored Clue box and turned her gentle smile on them. For such an intimidating figure, her heart must have been the warmest, Adora realized. “You just make me feel so _accepted_. That’s never really happened before.”

Glimmer was immediately brought near tears by her sudden sentiment. She reached across the table and took one of Scorpia’s stained hands in hers, cooing, “Awww, Scorpia, you’re literally the sweetest. It’s been great getting to know you. I’m really glad Entrapta invited you.”

Bow flashed his handsome grin in agreement. “As far as I’m concerned, you’re an honorary part of the Best Friend Squad!” he declared.

Scorpia’s expression was like a child’s on Christmas morning. “Oh my gosh, I’m so honored!” she cried softly, so as not to disturb those trying to sleep nearby (a hard-learned behavior). She was grinning wider than ever and the look never faltered even as she added: “The what?”

“Glimmer and Adora and me!” Adora could tell from the excitement in his voice exactly what was coming next. Bow never missed an opportunity for a little showmanship. He stood up and propped one foot on the table, gazing valiantly into the distance and reciting with vigor, “We’re an awesome, butt-kicking, kindness-sharing friendship force expertly named by yours truly.” He honestly struck a figure eerily similar to Sea Hawk’s.

Scorpia was absolutely thrilled by his display, even as the other girls rolled their eyes. “And you want me to be a part of it?” she gasped.

“Honorary. Since you are still Keston,” Bow clarified, sitting back down. “But yes!”

Scorpia wasn’t disappointed in the slightest. “Wow, I don’t know what to say,” she gushed, cupping her cheeks in her hands. A beat passed. Then her eyes went wide and flicked up to Bow’s anxiously. “Oh, man!” she squeaked. “I just remembered I’m already part of the Super Pal Trio with Catra and Entrapta!” 

The genuine worry in her eyes was enough for Bow to jump in instantly, amending, “That’s okay! You can be in both. Or, or—” He raised his finger as if struck by an epiphany. “—we could _combine_ groups to form the Ultimate Pal Squad!”

“Yeah, I’m sure Catra would be thrilled about that,” Adora couldn’t stop herself from muttering dryly. She wasn’t sure what about this whole exchange made her feel a little bit slighted. She was truly happy for Scorpia, but maybe seeing someone so excited about a successful friendship was just…bittersweet. 

Not to worry. The sarcasm went straight over Scorpia’s head. “She _did_ finally stop threatening to scratch me on the eyeball over calling us the Super Pal Trio,” she acknowledged brightly. Then her smile went sage and a little dreamy and she reflected, “You know, Catra may be a tough nut to crack, but deep down she’s a real sweetheart.”

“Yeah.” Adora crossed her arms and looked down at them, trying to unravel the knot that had twisted her gut. “I know.”

Bow, ever the empath, looked Adora carefully up and down, sensing her change in mood. His attention was heart-warming, though Adora hated to admit that she needed it. He pursed her lips and said just shy of deliberately, “Hey, guys? I think it’s about time for us to hit the hay. Glimmer’s drooling on my shirt.” He looked down fondly at said girl, who actually was dozing against him, and then turned back to Scorpia and raised his hand for a high-five. “Welcome to the Squad, Scorpia!” The two slapped hands quietly, which was comical in and of itself, and then Bow stood with Glimmer scooped in his arms, which was even harder not to burst out laughing at. 

Scorpia watched as he shuffled to the adjoining door between their rooms and disappeared into Bright Moon territory. “Man, isn’t he great?” she sighed once he’d gone.

“Yeah,” Adora agreed absently. Her attention hadn’t been on Bow for a while. She was still sitting with her back leaned against the foot of the couch, head turned to gaze pensively at the sleeping Catra.

Scorpia was silent for a long moment. Adora could feel her eyes on her, and thought vaguely that perhaps Bow wasn’t the only empath among them. Or maybe she was just really bad at hiding her feelings.

“Adora?” the big girl said gently, rousing her from her daze. Once Adora looked across at her she continued hesitantly, “It’s not really my business, but I just wanted to say—I know there’s a lot of _stuff_ between you two, but…” Her gaze drifted between Adora and Catra and then settled back on Adora. “For what it’s worth, even when you’re going at each other’s throats, it’s easy to tell that there’s a real bond there.” Her voice had gone very serious. “She’s lucky to have you.”

“No, she’s lucky to have _you,_ ” Adora countered. “I left, remember?” She hugged herself and looked away. Scorpia’s words were hitting her a lot harder than she wanted to admit. Bringing up things she didn’t want to allow herself to hope in. _A real bond?_ No, she’d broken that a long time ago.

Scorpia scooted a bit closer to her over the carpet. “Sure, but something like that can’t keep you apart forever, can it? After all, you’re here now,” she pointed out.

Adora scoffed bitterly. “Tell that to Catra. I’m trying to make things right, and I think sometimes it might be working but then she goes back to being distant.” Like after last night, when Catra avoided her for half the day just because they’d kind of cuddled.

“That’s just her defense mechanism,” Scorpia insisted. “You of all people should know that.”

Scorpia was right. She should know that. And really, she did. It just hurt sometimes, because she really wanted to make progress with Catra and it seemed like the other girl wanted the opposite. “I wish she would see that she doesn’t have to _defend_ herself from me anymore,” she admitted with a sharp sigh. “I want…” She faltered, and then rushed on. “I want Catra back. I never thought that switching schools would mess everything up this badly. If I knew it would cost us our friendship I never would have done it.”

Scorpia raised her red palms in a _whoa_ motion. “Well, hold on now, Adora. You have a right to make the best decisions for yourself, too, and from what I can see, Bright Moon’s been a good thing for you,” she observed.

“Yeah, but I wish it didn’t have to be either/or.” Adora’s eyes were growing moist with tears and she blinked them back furiously. She reflected regretfully, “Catra would just tell me ‘I guess you can’t have everything you want.’ Maybe I’m stupid, but I thought that this time at least I could. I thought…” She wiped away a stay tear. “I was willing to try to make it work. I guess she wasn’t.”

For a long moment Scorpia was silent, and Adora wondered if she’d given up. She didn’t blame her. It may as well be common knowledge that Catra was a lost cause. Then the big girl spoke, and it was thoughtful. “You know,” she began, “Back when you guys were at the orphanage and I was always around helping my mom, I was kind of jealous of you. I could see that Catra thought the world of you and I felt like no matter how hard I tried to be her friend, she just wouldn’t see me as worth her time too.”

Adora was hit by a wave of guilt. “Scorpia, I—”

“No, it’s okay.” Scorpia waved her off, so graciously. “I’ve come to realize since then that I don’t need anybody’s opinion to validate me. I know I’m a good friend, and if I’m meant to be that good friend to Catra then it’ll happen. I’m already closer than I was ten years ago!” She smiled in a brief moment of pride. Then she sobered again and leaned toward Adora, lowering her voice. “But, Adora, my point is, you two were inseparable. Nothing could come between you whether that was me or another person or a tough situation or even a fight you guys had. It was like you two were destined to stay together forever.”

Adora didn’t know where this was heading. Everything Scorpia had said only served to make the tears come faster, and she almost choked on them. “I already know I messed up, Scorpia, so if you’re going to—”

“Just a second. What I’m trying to say is, this _thing_ that’s been going on with you two? This isn’t you. It’s obvious you guys love each other and no silly stupid school transfer can mess that up for long, even if Catra does want to be difficult about it.”

Oh. That was not what she’d expected.

“So the way I see it, it’s really only a matter of time,” Scorpia finished, smiling kindly at her. She would make an excellent therapist, Adora realized through her muddled, miserable thoughts.

Hesitantly, the blonde looked up and met Scorpia’s eyes with her wet ones, feeling now as if she were in the middle of a session and Scorpia had all the answers to her problems. “Hasn’t it been long enough already?”

“We’ve only been here for a day and a half, silly!” Scorpia said, pushing a nearby tissue box to her across the table. Yeah, definitely a therapist. “I give it to the end of the week before you guys are right as rain.”

Adora took one and blew her nose. Man, she was a wreck. “You really think so?” she asked, her voice small. She really wanted to believe what she was hearing, but a year of regret and disappointment was tough to overcome.

“Assuming Catra stops telling herself she hates you and faces her actual feelings.”

Adora laughed without much humor and it turned into a hiccup. “That is the big variable, isn’t it?”

Scorpia moved closer again to rest her hand on the blonde’s shoulder. “You’re Adora,” she reminded in a soothing tone. “There’s no way she can hold out for long.”

“I hope you’re right. I really miss her.” Adora let the hand with the crumpled tissue fall into her lap as she turned to look at the girl in question. Catra’s face was familiar and peaceful in sleep; the old, carefree visage that Adora used to see as a child. It was so strange to her to think that this was the same, distant Catra who was full of so much pain and anger. She was tempted to reach out and touch her rare, relaxed features, but a million things held her back.

“Don’t let her know I said this, but she misses you too,” Scorpia told her gently.

Tears rushed to Adora’s eyes anew, but this time they weren’t in sadness. Her heart felt bruised and battered but oddly comforted in Scorpia’s care. It was like the Keston grad had picked it up, brushed the dust off and bandaged up the wounds with tender red hands. Now all she had to do was heal Catra’s, too. “Thanks, Scorpia,” she said, smiling through her tears. “Glimmer was right. You are literally the sweetest.” 

“Ah, stop, you’re making me blush.” Scorpia actually was, a little, and she turned her face away and rubbed her neck to hide it.

Adora thought it looked good on her. “Hey, really, and thanks for being such a good friend to Catra when I wasn’t,” she continued with earnest honesty. “I can tell she really values you. Even if she tries to hide it by threatening to scratch your eyeballs.”

Scorpia laughed, and it was a little too loud but neither of them minded. “Coulda fooled me,” she said, grinning. She looked over at Catra as the brunette shifted in her sleep and Adora followed her gaze, and both of them sighed.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia Appreciation time


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bring some snacks

They piled out of Bow’s van—which they had totally not stuffed ten people into when it only legally sat seven—and into the late-morning sun, which hung just above the tops of the stores in front of them. They were facing the main promenade of Pier Park, where a light crowd of people already came and went like waves against the beach.

“Wow,” exclaimed Scorpia, who had never been before, standing in the middle of the street to get the fullest possible view of the busy outlet strips. “There are so many! I want to visit all of them.”

Glimmer laughed incredulously as she walked over to join her. “As much as I’d love to spend all day shopping with you guys, I did _not_ wear the shoes for that,” she declared. Indeed, her feet were strapped into a pair of glittery silver Birkenstocks, which were great for fashion but not so much for support.

“Let’s each pick a store that we want to hit and stick with that,” Adora suggested as she unfurled a blue baseball cap from her back pocket and pulled it on.

“Good idea,” agreed Bow. “Let’s check out the directory. There’s one right there with the map.” He pointed with one hand while he clicked his van locked with the other.

The group straggled over to the big display where a map of Pier Park hung upright, protected by a layer of clear plastic. The store directory was listed underneath and each category was conveniently inked in a different color. As they crowded around it, Adora took on a businesslike air and said, “Once we’ve each made our picks then we can plan out the most efficient path between them. I was thinking we start with the farthest one away and work our way back.” When the others turned to look at her askance, she seemed to shrink into herself, losing some of her initial confidence. “Just to…to save Glimmer’s feet,” she amended meekly.

“Ah, Adora. Always the strategist,” Catra sighed, voicing all of their thoughts. Adora frowned at her, expecting to find a scathing look in blue and gold eyes, but when she looked, Catra didn’t even seem annoyed. The crooked smirk on her face seemed more…affectionate than anything. Adora swallowed and looked away, too nervous to come up with a good answer.

Glimmer instantly assumed the worst. “I think that’s a great idea,” she defended, and before Catra could fire off a cutting response she trundled on, “I’ll go first.” She tapped her chin with one finger, analyzing the directory like it was a battle plan. “How does Claire’s sound?” she asked no one in particular. “Ooh, or Francesca’s!” After another moment her expression soured. “Ugh, I can’t decide!”

“I’ll pick whichever one you don’t pick,” Bow offered brightly, saving her from her painfully first-world struggle. Glimmer gave him a grateful smile.

Sea Hawk was so anxious to peruse the list he had been basically hanging over Bow and Glimmer’s shoulders this whole time. He narrated his search with a stream of thoughtful “Hrmm”s and “Ahh”s and “Tempting”s, all the while twirling the corner of his mustache between thumb and forefinger. Then all of a sudden he jumped up and forced Bow to catch him in an impromptu piggyback ride, exclaiming, “There! _Salt Life!_ ” and pointing ahead as if he were a captain and Bow was his vessel.

Bow staggered under his weight and barely kept upright, crying, “Whoa, Sea Hawk, give a guy some warning!”

Mermista stepped up behind them and physically plucked Sea Hawk off of his victim with a bored indifference that said this was not the first time she’d had to do so. “I want to go to Ron Jon, and they’re basically the same store, so why don’t we just combine our picks,” she suggested, placing him on the ground, and it wasn’t really posed as a question.

“Mermista, you are a genius!” Sea Hawk gushed, throwing his arm around her shoulders so that she stumbled and pulled a face. “That will save us ever so much time!”

“That’s the idea,” Mermista brushed him off, trying to hide a blush.

Man, that guy is a handful, Adora thought with more than a little concern. Then her attention was drawn to Catra for no reason other than that she actually seemed more engaged than usual. The brunette was standing off to the side, pursing her lips as her eyes ran over the list. As Adora watched she stepped up to it and marked a couple of names with her fingers. Adora craned her neck to see that her selections were Hot Topic, Harley-Davidson, and Buckle, unsurprisingly.

“I really have to pick only one?” she asked plaintively, catching Adora’s look over her shoulder.

Scorpia crowded up to where Catra stood and reflected loudly, “I didn’t even think you liked shopping, Catra! If I did I would have suggested it way before bowling.”

Catra’s eyes widened for a second before she got control of herself and forced a glare. “I _don’t,_ ” she growled. “Harley-Davidson is just—cool.” Adora swore she saw a flush spreading under her freckles. What was that about? And, bowling? What was _that_ about?

“I second that sentiment!” Sea Hawk chimed in before she could ask.

“You are _not_ getting a motorcycle while we are here,” Mermista told him.

Adora looked back and forth between Seamista and Catra. Catra’s denial aside, she was caught a little off guard by the girls’s seeming interest in such a ‘preppy’ pastime. Catra felt her gaze and instantly screwed her face into a look of annoyance. “Ugh, stop looking at me like that,” she snapped.

Adora gave her an innocent half-smile. She would have prodded more, but Scorpia’s bowling comment was still distracting her. “So is that your pick?”

“Sure, fine, whatever,” Catra grumbled, rolling her eyes. “Not like I even care.”

“I’m going to GameStop,” Frosta announced abruptly to the general public. Her voice was harsh and final, like she was used to being second-guessed and she wanted to shut out that opportunity preemptively. As it were, no one here was bent on shooting her down, so her intensity was a little overdone. Glimmer and Mermista gave her sideways looks.

Entrapta, however, paid no attention to the nuances of the situation, as usual. She’d just perked up instantly at the mention of technology. “I’d be happy to accompany you!” she squawked, sidling up to the pinch-faced girl.

“But you’re not allowed to tamper with any of the electronics, Entrapta,” Bow reminded her.

Entrapta deflated. “Awwww.”

“I’ll, uh…keep an eye on them,” Scorpia volunteered. The two smaller girls began drifting away from the group and she backpedaled after them, explaining, “I think we’re gonna borrow the van, though, because otherwise it would be like a, uh, five-mile walk.” Bow got the hint and tossed his car keys into her waiting hands, and then Scorpia turned and hurried after her charges. “Guys, I’m comin’!”

“Be careful,” Bow called after her, grimacing.

Once they’d gone and Adora didn’t have to worry about Scorpia overhearing, she leaned over to Catra and said casually, “So, bowling, huh?” She couldn’t help it. That one little comment had been tickling at her mind and it would eat her up if she didn’t ask. She didn’t want to consider why.

“Shut up,” hissed Catra without much heat. Her face was still in that distasteful scowl and Adora thought absently that it might get stuck like that before too long. But that unexplained blush was back, too. When Catra glanced over to find that Adora was still standing there, she sighed and explained reluctantly, “Scorpia kind of tried to ask me out once. It was whatever.”

Adora’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh she did? Did you go?” Now why was that the first question that popped out of her mouth? And why was there a hint of something raw in her voice, even though she’d tried her best to keep a neutral tone? It couldn’t be jealousy, certainly, because who cared about Catra’s dating life? Certainly not her.

Catra missed nothing. She narrowed her eyes at Adora and said carefully, “Of course not.”

Adora felt a surge of satisfaction and then tried with all her might to shove her unwanted feelings down. _Who cares?_ she repeated. _Not me._ “If she’d suggested going to Harley Davidson, would you have gone?” she asked wryly, steering them back to familiar ground. Safe, familiar ground. She felt a pang of relief and something else that she ignored. She didn’t let herself think that maybe it had been regret. Catra declined to answer, still watching her, too observant.

Suddenly she was startled out of her thoughts by the others asking for her vote. Apparently this had been their second or third try to get through to her, judging by Glimmer’s impatient look.

“Uh,” she said eloquently to their waiting faces, “I don’t care; I’m easy.” Mostly because she hadn’t been paying enough attention to the directory to know what was on it. It took her a moment to realize that Catra’s lips had just curled up in the evil grin that she reserved for sexual innuendos. “Shut up,” Adora hissed, aiming an elbow at her ribs.

Catra hopped out of range, her smile not faltering. “I mean, I didn’t say anything.”

“Ugh, you guys are so immature,” Glimmer scolded, which was odd because she usually positively reveled in those kinds of jokes. Then she perked up and pinned a store name under her finger. “Look, an Earthbound! That seems right up your alley, Perfuma.”

The flower girl, who had hung back until now, smiled politely and said, “Actually, I prefer Lizard Thicket. It’s not as perfectly my style, but they’re involved in a bunch of different community service and charity causes.”

“Oh! Okay. There’s one of those, too,” Glimmer accommodated, finding it on the map.

Catra of all people spoke next. “Hey, Flower Girl,” she said, bumping Perfuma lightly with her shoulder, “How come you’re so into everything charity and nature? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Adora had to catch herself from letting her jaw drop in disbelief. ‘If you don’t mind me asking?' Did Catra just say something _polite?_ On top of willingly entering conversation with a Bright Moon ‘prep?’ She was absolutely unpredictable. Adora felt her heart warm at this particular surprise. Catra shot her a look that spoke louder than words: _Never did have too much faith in me._

Adora wouldn’t make that mistake again.

“You really want to know?” Perfuma gasped, obviously thrilled that someone had asked. She composed herself by clasping her hands together tightly and then began, “Well. My grandfather had a mango orchard in El Salvador called Huerta Perfuma—which is my namesake, of course—and every year it was time to harvest he would invite the local children to come pick the mangoes for their families instead of selling them, and—”

“Really?” Catra broke in, and for once her tone was one of wonderment, not cynicism.

“Hm?”

“This is a true story? Not just some fairy tale you made up?”

Perfuma nodded earnestly. “It’s absolutely true! My grandfather was an amazing man and I admired him more than anyone in the world. He taught me what it meant to care for people without expecting anything in return. And he taught me how to make things grow.” She was smiling dreamily, and the sight made her audience want to do the same. “When he passed away, those lessons became like my mantra. I wanted to treat people and nature just the way he did. Like he could change the world with his own two hands.” As she finished she turned her smile on Catra in particular.

The brunette seemed a little uncomfortable under the attention, but she looked thoughtful, like the story had struck her on a deeper level. “Wow. That’s…deep,” she murmured.

“Well, as far as I’m concerned, you’re following right in his footsteps, Perfuma,” Bow put in warmly, putting his arm around the taller girl’s shoulders.

Perfuma beamed at him. “Thank you, you guys.” As Glimmer joined the hug, Perfuma seemed to remember something and blushed lightly. “Oh. And we don’t have to go to Lizard Thicket. That’s just my opinion,” she added considerately.

Glimmer looked up at her. “We are most definitely going to Lizard Thicket,” she declared, and no one argued. “Let’s do some altruism!”

***

Lizard Thicket was everything that Perfuma’s sentiment had made it out to be, but in Glimmer’s words, “Man, that was so far away.”

They were currently walking from the store back toward the center of the park, where the Ferris wheel rose high above the parking lot, and their feet were already beginning to protest. It had, in fact, been a long way.

Bow nudged her with his elbow and pointed out, always the optimist, “The altruism was totally worth it, though, right Glimmer?”

“Sure, but,” Glimmer straightened up from her slouch and patted her stomach with a frown, as if offended to find it empty, “now I’m really hungry.” “Panera?”

“Oh, yeah, why don’t we just hit all the places that would blow all our money instantly?” Catra chimed in with biting sarcasm.

Glimmer scowled at her. “Fine then. What’s _your_ bright idea?” she challenged.

Before Catra could reply, Adora gasped loudly and stopped in her tracks, and the rest paused to look at her questioningly. She stood rooted to the spot, eyes glazed over like she’d been electrocuted. As they watched, she raised one hand and pointed ahead of them, and no one could say with any certainty that her hand was not shaking. “ _That,_ ” she breathed in utter reverence. “That’s my pick.”

They followed her finger and saw what had struck her so.

Great American Cookies.

“Of course,” Catra broke the worshipful silence.

Glimmer slid her gaze from the dessert shop to Adora, who was still standing stock-still. “Adora,” she said with some concern, waving her hand in front of the blonde’s face, “aren’t you supposed to be training for soccer tryouts for college?”

“Yes, but,” Adora placed a hand on her shoulder and continued to point. “I need that.”

Glimmer couldn’t stop her from drifting forward in a daze toward the store like a moth to a lamp.

Catra snickered at the sight. “Her sweet tooth speaks louder than her brain sometimes,” she said. Glimmer looked at her sharply, startled by the offhand familiarity of her words, but Catra apparently didn’t notice that she’d just accidentally acted like she and Adora were _friends_. She was too busy watching the disaster blonde fondly, hiding a smirk by chewing on one of her nails.

Well, that was interesting.

In the end, none of them could stop Adora from wolfing down three massive chocolate chip cookies from the novelty store.

The others may have _grudgingly_ bought a few for themselves, too. Grudgingly.

***

It was on their way back up the main stretch of the park that Catra took her turn to meet her weakness.

She stopped abruptly just as Adora had, making the jock run into her back, and pointed at a thatch-roofed booth on the sidewalk across the street from them.

“Look: henna!” she cried in the most open display of excitement Adora had seen from her in a while.

“You already have tattoos,” Adora reminded her, a bit reluctant to undermine her joy. “Come on.” She nudged Catra to start her walking again and distract her from the temptation.

As Catra began moving again she looked disdainfully at the decorative rings tattooed on her arms; three around each bicep, two on each forearm. They were made up of tiny geometric patterns, but from any distance they appeared to be just stripes. “They’re not _henna_ tattoos,” she argued.

“I’ve had those. Gold ones,” Mermista put in from where she’d come up beside them. “They’re cool, but really expensive.” She studied her shiny teal nails and added, “Not that I couldn’t afford it, but I’m _just_ saying.”

Adora cleared her throat uncomfortably and reminded Catra, “You could just draw some on yourself for less.”

Catra harrumphed and eyed the stand longingly as they went by, but she didn’t argue.

It wasn’t long before Scorpia, Frosta and Entrapta came trekking across the promenade toward them, back from their quest to the Gamestop. Scorpia looked a bit haggard, but the other two girls practically glowed in triumph. Frosta had a little envelope clutched in her hand, which she revealed to have a disc tucked inside.

“Ooh!” Sea Hawk chirped upon noticing it as the girls rejoined their group. “Is that Skyrim I see?”

“Yep,” Frosta confirmed, waving the envelope casually in front of her face like a fan. “Gently used Special Edition for the PC.”

Sea Hawk earned a few looks of surprise when he continued, “But I thought you must download Skyrim for the PC through Steam?” Only Mermista wasn’t fazed by his apparent secret knowledge of the video game world.

Frosta scoffed. “Do you think I have fifty dollars to blow on the Steam version of this?” She waved the disc again.

“Don’t you?” Glimmer questioned incredulously.

“Well…I _do,_ ” Frosta grumbled, her face sour, as if she was loath to admit that fact, “but I trust physical copies more.”

“An outdated decision, since I could easily supervise any purely digital downloads for you and confirm that all files are relocated successfully,” Entrapta popped up beside her and pointed out cheerfully.

Frosta slid her a chilly sideways glance. “Like I said. I trust this more.”

“Whew!” sighed Scorpia once the conversation had died out. She raked one hand through her bleached-white hair to push it off her slightly sweaty forehead. “I could use a cold drink,” she said. Then she balked and edited, “Like, juice! Or a smoothie. Or something of that nature. Not alcohol. No, sir. No illicit activity for me.”

“Tough crowd?” Catra asked with a dry smile as she moved over to walk by Scorpia’s side.

“Oh, you have no idea, Wildcat,” replied Scorpia with a short laugh. “Or, well, I guess you kind of do, since you know Entrapta. But yes! They are quite the handful. Kept me very busy just trying to keep both of them within sight and out of the air vents.” At Catra’s look, she added: “Figuratively, I mean.” Then she stroked her chin with one stained hand. “Although, that would not be entirely out of the question.”

Catra snickered. “You’re not wrong.”

She didn’t notice Adora watching her and Scorpia out of the corner of her eye, just a little bit suspiciously. She may or may not have been thinking, _Wildcat?_ But, that was none of her business. Plus, Catra’s response to the bowling thing—‘Of course not.’—was presumably a good sign. There was nothing to worry about. Scorpia was just friendly. Not that she cared, Adora reminded herself quickly.

“Hey, gang?” the big girl in question spoke up then, “Do you think we could, ah, stop for a second over there?” Her red finger was extended to indicate the Italian ice stand just ahead.

“Sure!” Bow said generously, then turned to the group and hollered, “Who wants Italian iiiice?”

The majority of the group made some noise of assent, but Perfuma unexpectedly shook her head and pointed down the street, smiling brightly. “I actually think I want some of _that,_ ” she countered.

Bow followed her finger and his jaw dropped. The rest of their heads turned to see what was so shocking, and a collective murmur ran through the group. No one was eager to say what they all were thinking.

“Uh, Perfuma?” Adora bit the bullet and spoke up with a delicate cough. “Hate to break it to you, but that’s not legal.”

Perfuma tore her eyes away from the large building that announced ‘Margaritaville’ on its front face, above a collection of outdoor tables with gaudily colored umbrellas. “I’m 21, silly,” she told her with a sweet smile.

“ _What?_ ” Catra broke in, voice nearly a shriek of disbelief.

Glimmer chuckled smugly, apparently having known all along. Thanks for letting me make a fool of myself, Adora thought. “Yeah, she’s taken a gap year in between like every year of high school,” she explained.

Perfuma was heading towards the forbidden restaurant, and they all followed in her wake numbly, too shellshocked to do otherwise. “I thought that usually happened _after_ you graduate,” Adora said to Glimmer, her voice low enough that Perfuma wouldn’t overhear.

“It does, but this is Perfuma we’re talking about,” Glimmer said matter-of-factly. The little smile still on her face said that she enjoyed knowing something the others didn’t. “If there’s nature involved, she’ll find a way to do it.”

“Why am I surprised?” Adora mumbled to herself as they neared the store. About the gap years, she meant. Not the margarita. That was still pretty surprising. Weren’t those, like…un-vegan somehow?

Perfuma was making a beeline for the door, and the others slowed to a halt nearby as if stopped by some invisible barrier. Yeah, it’s called responsibility, Adora thought, catching Catra’s longing look toward the bar in her peripherals.

“We’ll meet you back out here, okay, Perfuma?” Bow called after her. Then he shifted from foot to foot as if nervous and asked, “Are you good on your own in there?”

“I’ll go with her!” Entrapta volunteered abruptly, pushing to the front of the pack.

Bow looked a little taken aback by her enthusiasm. He furrowed his brows and looked down to remind her, “No alcohol, Entrapta. You know that.”

But she assured him with a grin, “I wouldn’t dream of it! I am much more effective with my reaction time and motor functions intact.” She wiggled her fingers in demonstration. Even without gloves on, they retained the capable look of a technician’s digits. “Plus it’s dangerous to mix with my medicine.”

Bow didn’t look one hundred percent mollified, but in any case he let the girls walk off into Margaritaville. The rest of them drifted towards a nearby store boasting a sign that said ‘Coastal Casuals.’ It hadn’t been any of their picks specifically, but it apparently caught Scorpia’s interest and no one had any reason to argue.

As they stepped onto the fake-hardwood floors of Coastal Casuals, Scorpia gasped in awe. The place was filled wall-to-wall with beachy clothes and hats and jewelry and novelties that drew the eye whether they were genuine or not.

There was also a rack full of shot glasses, which Catra gravitated towards immediately. Adora sighed and tried to keep a subtle eye on her while also appearing to ignore her.

The Bright Moon crowd and Scorpia perused the displays in a loose gaggle, looking through this pile of faux shark teeth or that rack of beach-themed crop tops.

Catra, however, didn’t follow them. Adora hung back, wondering why the Keston grad now only seemed interested in one particular rack of socks. She couldn’t figure out what would be so riveting about a bunch of socks until she casually walked over, picked up a pair and realized they said _I’m a badass bitch_ on them in magenta ribboning. A quick look around the rest of the rack told Adora that the rest had similar sayings.

She laughed in wonder, thinking, of course Catra would love this. When the brunette turned to her with mischief in her eyes (had she been _waiting_ for Adora to figure it out?), Adora gestured to the rack and observed, “They’ve got a whole display dedicated to you.”

Catra flashed her a smile full of sharp canines and sarcasm. “You’re right. These are perfect,” she agreed, and held up a pair. These were blue and covered in clouds and the delicate text said _Up yours!_

Well played, Adora had to admit, but instead she pretended to gasp in horror through her grin and said, “Oh my gosh, Catra, stop. You’re being a bad influence on Frosta!”

“Am I?” Catra pretended to be taken aback. She placed one hand on her heart innocently and extended the one holding the socks toward the rest of their group, where Frosta milled about between Glimmer and Entrapta. “You mean it would be a bad idea to—” She took a step backward, toward them and away from Adora. “—go over there and—” Another step, and now her eyes were sparkling with amusement. “—show her?”

“Oh, no, you don’t!” Adora declared and chased after her, which began a race for Frosta’s innocence as Catra turned and bounded into the forest of clothing racks between herself and the group.

“Hey, no running, please,” the nearest clerk called out in her thick French accent, but they both ignored her, intent on the chase.

Adora, slower but more strategic, wove through and over the displays to circle around just ahead of Catra and cut her off before she could reach Frosta. She jumped out at the last minute and caught the brunette as she tried to skip by and before either of them knew it Catra was tangled in Adora’s arms, her feet lifted off the ground, giggling in delight. “Fine, fine, you win,” she conceded, out of breath, letting Adora confiscate the socks, and it wasn’t lost on Adora that this was probably the first time she’d heard those words from Catra without a trace of bitterness.

She replaced her companion’s feet on the ground and prepared to release her, but she found that Catra’s hands were on her wrists, keeping them locked in an embrace with Adora’s chest against her back and their hearts racing together. Adora was too happy in that moment to be embarrassed. Instead she rode out the last traces of her adrenaline and laughed into Catra’s hair as the brunette leaned against her and it seemed like the most natural thing in the world. She almost, _almost_ slipped up and kissed Catra on the cheek before she got a hold of herself and remembered that their friends were standing right there. Yikes.

Their hands stayed joined for a split second after they disentangled the rest of themselves.

When Adora turned to face the rest of the group she found their faces a mixture of disbelief, smugness, and politely feigned disinterest, and she felt her face burn, but before she had to give them an excuse she heard Catra gasp beside her.

“Ooh, let’s go to Spencer’s!” the brunette gushed, and suddenly Adora’s embarrassment evaporated and was replaced by annoyance.

“Let’s _not,_ ” she shot back. She tried to angle herself to block Frosta’s view of the offending store, which Catra had spotted through an open door.

Frosta peered around her, looking interested. “What’s at Spencer’s?”

Adora sighed, long and put-upon. She should have known better than to take Catra literally anywhere.

***

They decided to split up to visit Claire’s, Francesca’s, and Harley-Davidson in order to save time. It wasn’t like Catra was interested in the ‘preppy’ stores, and Glimmer and Bow were equally as disillusioned with heavy metal and motorcycles.

Afterward they met up at a bench outside Harley-Davidson and headed toward the entrance together, where they also picked up a returning Perfuma and Entrapta. Perfuma, to her credit, seemed as though she’d drunk responsibly.

That is, until Bow mentioned it, and Perfuma revealed that she hadn’t gotten a margarita at all. “Their fruit juice looked fresher!” she explained, whatever that meant.

Catra just about had a fit upon hearing that the one legal member of their group had just thrown away an opportunity to get buzzed, but Glimmer jumped in to distract her just in time.

“Get anything good?” she asked her.

Catra was so ticked at Perfuma she forgot to turn a cold shoulder to Glimmer. “This wicked bandana,” she shared, holding it up. It was dark red with stylized black flame designs on it and a Harley-Davidson crest in the center. “I couldn’t afford the leather jacket with the tiger on the back made of metal studs, but this was a close second.” She reached up and tied the bandana around her forehead so that it held back her bangs, and then turned for Glimmer’s appraisal. “Do I look like a biker or what?”

Adora bumped into her shoulder from the opposite side. “Hate to break it to you, but I think the answer is somewhere under ‘or what,’” she teased.

“I didn’t ask you.” Catra pouted and kept the bandana on her head purely out of spite. Then she looked over at Glimmer. “What about you, Sparkles? Find some rainbow trash to add to your collection?”

“As a matter of fact I did. Look!” Glimmer cried happily, reaching into the Claire’s bag around her wrist and pulling out a mound of soft, colorful fabric. “Bow and I got matching shorts.”

Catra eyed it. “Gross. What about you, Adora? You really going to walk away from this shopping spree with nothing but a few extra pounds?” She turned a raised eyebrow on the blonde, who scoffed.

“I’ve more than walked off my cookies already, Catra. I’ve been counting,” she said pointedly. She waved her phone so that Catra could see the health nut BS app pulled up on the screen. “And no, I bought something while you were bandana shopping.”

“Let me see.”

She reached into her back pocket, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious under Catra’s scrutiny. She told herself it was no big deal; that Catra had seen her in way more revealing situations than this, but her heart was still going too quick.

She pulled out her conquest—a pair of blue ombre Janis Joplin shades—and put them on.

Catra pursed her lips and tried to look indifferent, but Adora could see the way her eyes lingered on her face, dark with interest. Still, the brunette cleared her throat and tried to hide it. “You look better in red,” she muttered, looking away. Right. Of course. Keston red.

Adora smiled and replied, “Thank you,” to the compliment that Catra had deliberately not given her.

Catra blushed. “Whatever.”

Their last stop was Ron Jon surf shop, as requested by Seamista.

Once inside, Sea Hawk drifted towards the surfboards, unfazed by the fact that he’d never surfed a day in his life, and for once Mermista let him. She was too absorbed in the racks upon racks of suave beachy clothing and mermaid-esque bathing suits to pay him much mind anyway.

“Look, guys,” she called out from the midst of one such rack, “my mom designed this.”

Adora was nearest her, and she perked up in interest. “She what?” she questioned, not quite sure whether the other girl was joking or not.

“Yeah, you know.” No, Adora did not know, so Mermista explained: “She’s a big-wig fashion designer. Specializes in mermaid-themed stuff. Perfuma is one of her models. It’s no big deal.” Her self-satisfied smile implied, however, that it was in fact kind of a big deal to her.

“That’s really cool,” Adora told her with a genuine smile. She was learning something new about her schoolmates with every stop they made. It occurred to her with sudden, unexpected intensity how glad she was that they’d come on this trip.

And that brought her thoughts back to Catra. Adora looked around for her and found that she was rolling around on one of the longboards on display, despite the sign nearby that very clearly said ‘Please do not ride skateboards inside.’ In fact—probably only riding it _because_ of the sign.

Adora sighed, but found her grin widening despite her exasperation. “Catra!” she called, crossing the store towards the skateboard racks, “Put that back! You are _not_ buying a longboard!”

Catra glanced up, and her blue and gold eyes were sparkling. “Come on, Adora. Who do you think I am, Sea Hawk?” she shot back, and very much did not put it back.

She bought the longboard.

***

Catra insisted on riding her new longboard back to the condo from Pier Park, despite being a complete novice at the sport. The others went on ahead in the van after Glimmer proclaimed, “I am _not_ going to be a witness to your death!”

Catra didn't mind. She’d always enjoyed living on the edge, especially when Adora was there to bite her pretty little nails over it. Riding unsteadily down a construction-zone-riddled sidewalk next to a crush of two-way traffic was an opportunity she just couldn’t pass up.

So there she was, rolling down the narrow strip of pavement beside Front Beach Road with Adora trailing behind her on foot and a crooked grin on her face. She mostly kept her eyes on her feet so she wouldn’t misstep, but whenever she looked up she was hit by a warm, novel feeling of peace. The breeze on her face and the salt in the air and the rumble of the longboard wheels beneath her and the steadying presence of Adora all mixed together in her head to form a sweet cocktail that gave her a bit of a rush. How had she almost backed out of this trip? She hadn’t enjoyed herself this much in a _while._

She risked her balance for a glance over her shoulder to catch Adora’s eye. Her smile widened as she noted the blonde’s expression: a little bit worried, a little bit annoyed, but unmistakably content. Catra wouldn’t want it any other way. “Hey, Adora,” she called across the consistent few yards between them, “how does it feel to be the slowest person in the world?”

She could see the spark of surprise in Adora’s eyes at the familiar words. Catra had thrown the same taunt many a time during their stay at Weaver’s orphanage, back when they played together and keep-away was the only thing Adora couldn’t beat her at. It wasn’t something she’d ever thought she’d say again, but here she was, digging up the past into the light of the Florida sun. Adora must have been thinking the same thing. It took a moment for her to let a smile spread over her face.

“Probably not as bad as running into that traffic cone,” she replied.

Catra registered the words too late. She whipped back around to face front but not before her front wheels clipped up onto a lip of rubber and the board halted, nose smashed into bright orange, and Catra went catapulting off the front.

She landed on hands and knees. Groaning loudly in more annoyance than pain, she turned over her hands and brushed bits of gravel out of her palms. “Stupid construction zones,” she grumbled. Then she looked over her shoulder again and pouted at Adora. “You could have warned me.”

Adora’s laugh was clear and merry. She slowed her pace as she neared Catra’s crash zone and stopped, stabilizing the vacated board with one foot. “I was going to,” she said, planting her fists on her hips, “before you insulted me.” Her words were meant to sound fittingly offended, but the effect was ruined by the smile she still sported.

“All right, all right,” Catra acknowledged grudgingly, climbing to her feet. She held out a long-nailed hand to the board. “Give it back.”

Adora’s foot stayed planted on the deck. “Can I try?” she asked instead, chewing her lip anxiously. What was she anxious about? Obviously Catra was fine, so it wasn’t that. Was she afraid of falling?

Then the answer clicked in Catra’s brain, and a knowing smirk pulled at her lips. Of course. Typical Adora, unwilling to be outdone. She’d seen Catra skating successfully for the better part of a mile and must have been just itching to give it a try herself, only better. Just like everything else she did.

Catra crossed her arms. She could have felt a pang of resentment— _should_ have, in fact—a week ago she definitely would have pitched a small tantrum—but instead she was just amused. Amused because Catra had seen Adora skimboard, and she had zero worry that she would show her up at anything similar. So she grinned, showing one sharp canine, and jerked her chin toward the board trapped under the golden girl’s foot. “Be my guest. Try not to bust your tail too hard.”

Adora snorted. “Yeah, right. How hard can it be?”

Catra didn’t have time for a snarky reply. The athlete hopped onto the deck fearlessly and immediately overbalanced. The board shot out from under her feet and she flailed back, barely catching herself before her rear could collide with the sidewalk. Catra caught the runaway ride underfoot smugly and watched Adora recover. “Oh,” the blonde was panting to herself, wobbling upright again. “I see.”

She eyed the vehicle scrutinizingly and straightened her ball cap before reaching for a second try. Catra obliged her.

This time Adora took her time aligning her front foot before she even ventured to take her other off the ground. When she finally mounted up, she threw out her arms to steady herself as the board rolled slightly under her weight. She let out a shaky laugh as she kept upright. “I did it,” she reflected in disbelief.

“That’s great,” Catra drawled sarcastically, a flash of affection in her jewel eyes, “now how about actually moving?”

Adora’s face immediately dropped into an indignant scowl. “Fine. Stand aside, peasant,” she commanded, shaking out her arms as if preparing for a fight. When Catra laughed and stepped into the grass just off the pavement, Adora realigned herself on the board, an expression of comically intense concentration on her face. “Let’s do this.”

She took her back foot off the board and timidly pushed off. The board rumbled forward smoothly, and Adora hurried to replace her foot on the deck before she lost her balance. Her arms still windmilled and she had to correct her course to stay on the sidewalk, but she managed it. Biting her lip intently, she dared to lower her foot to push off again. The board picked up a little bit of speed.

“Hey, that doesn’t completely suck!” Catra praised her as she repeated the careful motion a few times. The brunette started pacing after her, keeping out of range of any potential spills. 

Adora glared again, but remained staring at her feet instead of risking a glance. “Shut up, Catra, I’m concentrating.”

Catra let out a brief laugh. “Were you? I thought you were trying to fry a hole in my board with your laser vision.” She was gratified as Adora tried to shoot her a fittingly scathing look but almost fell off the board in doing so. She settled for venting by propelling herself down the sidewalk with a little more force. Catra watched her go, heart surprisingly light.

She wasn’t doing terribly, but she was far from good. Every time Adora pushed off, her weight shifted too far to one side or the other, so that she had to correct quickly before she ran off the curb or into the grass. Catra studied her movements appraisingly as she walked behind her.

“Center your lead foot on the board more,” she called out after Adora actually did roll into the grass, stalling the wheels and forcing her to either hop off or faceplant.

“Since when are _you_ an expert on this?” the blonde snapped, hair fanning out behind her as she whipped to face Catra.

Catra wasn’t hurt. She smirked to see her so riled up. “You’re just mad because your balance sucks,” she said, walking up to where Adora had bailed.

“No, yours is just insane,” the jock countered, crossing her arms. “You’re, like, literally a cat.”

Catra snorted as Adora went to pick up the fallen longboard and reposition it on the sidewalk. “Whatever, Adora. Are you done falling on your face now, or do you want my help?”

Adora was practically fuming as she remounted the ride. “I am _not_ —” She climbed on with a little too much abandon and the board slid out from under her before she got her feet set, sending her into a painful impromptu split. “Augh!” Adora was fit but not flexible. Her legs were definitely _not_ supposed to do that.

Catra was too busy laughing to be concerned, even when Adora rolled onto her side, hissing and groaning and clutching her distressed inner thighs in pain. “Ow…” the blonde ground out between clenched teeth. She lay on the sidewalk breathing deeply and remedially for a good minute, eyes squeezed shut, uncaring that the pavement was baking against her skin.

When Catra dropped into a crouch above her, Adora cracked her eyes open and slid her a tortured look. “Help, please,” she finally grumbled in concession.

Catra’s canines showed in a gloating grin. “About time, princess.” She straightened up and reached her hand back down to help Adora up. Once the athlete was righted, she retrieved the board and set it firmly back on the pavement. She stayed crouched next to it, holding it down, and looked up at Adora, businesslike. “All right, moron. Here, get on.” She pointed. “Put your feet where they should go.”

Adora was reluctant. “What, are you going to push me?” The protest was implied in her tone. She didn’t want to be babied.

That’s exactly why Catra was going to.

“Close.” Without explaining further Catra nodded to the board and gave Adora an expectant look until the blonde sighed and caved, stepping up onto the deck without much enthusiasm. Catra’s hands kept it in place while she adjusted.

Adora sighed, ever unwilling to continue with any activity she wasn’t _great_ at. “Seriously, what—?”

“Hold on.” Without warning Catra straightened up and grabbed her hand.

“Wha—Catra!”

The longboard surged into motion as Catra gave a sharp tug on Adora’s hand. Adora barely recovered from the swift start by flailing her free arm and leaning way back on her heels. Oddly enough that didn’t end up in a heinous overcorrection, because now Catra was running ahead of her, pulling her back on track, keeping her steady.

“Wow.” Adora couldn't keep the gentle exhale from passing her lips as she acclimated to this unexpected event. Catra’s sharp ears caught it, and she turned to glance back. Adora was cruising along faster than before, effortless now that Catra was guiding her. She could stand up straight and look around without fearing a crash, so that’s what she did, gazing around at the beachfront buildings and the distant ocean and the brilliant blue sky that matched her eyes. She looked happy. Radiant, like the sunlight on the sand.

Catra felt her heart swell at being at least partially responsible for that look on Adora’s face. She’d hoped the jock would react to her spur-of-the-moment move well, but she hadn’t been sure. Now she used what little air wasn’t invested in her jogging to laugh in absolute joy. Adora looked at her in mild surprise at the sound. They shared a rare smile.

Then, “Ready?” Catra panted.

Adora’s eyebrows shot up. “For what?”

Catra let go of her hand. For a moment Adora seemed to think that that was all, and a tinge of disappointment drooped her features. Catra’s lips curled up mischievously. Silly Adora. 

She dropped back just a step so that she was running alongside the board instead of in front. Then she flexed her hands, sucked in a deep, anticipating breath—and leaped.

Her feet landed on the deck, one between Adora’s and one a bit behind her back foot, over the rear truck. The added weight made the wheels trundle against the pavement a bit more loudly, but Catra’s deft transfer of balance lent them a little burst of speed. They were cruising, together.

“Whoa!” Adora cried and laughed loudly, making Catra’s heart positively soar. What was it about this girl that made her so happy to see _her_ happy?

She rested her hands on Adora’s waist, pressing her hips slantwise to her rear to conserve space. Golden strands of hair were whipping softly into her face, but Catra didn’t mind them. They joined in with the warm Florida wind to buffet her skin amicably. Adora tried turning her head to look at her, but Catra reached up and pushed her back by the cheek, scolding playfully, “Watch the road.” She could feel Adora’s answering chuckle bubbling from her chest. She’d been blushing.

One of Adora’s hands rose to cover Catra’s on her waist in place of words, and the brunette found a blush of her own rising. It was hot pressed against Adora with the sun shining down on her back, but she didn’t dare consider pulling away. This was special. This was contentment. This was _them._

Catra smiled and leaned closer.

They rode like that all the way until Salineas Resort welcomed their return.

***

It was that transitional time just after sunset when the sky and the sea and the sand all blended together in ghostly shades of gray. The horizon would have blurred right out of existence if it weren’t for the last, trailing rays of the sun painting a dusky rainbow glow just at the foot of the sky. There was just enough light left for the vacationing teens to navigate across the sand to a little fire pit lying right at the edge of the Salineas property, by the volleyball net.

Instead of dinner, the majority of the group had opted to go down to the beach and stuff themselves with artificial sweeteners. That is to say, they were making s’mores.

Or, well—they were _trying_ to make s’mores.

Mermista, Adora and Scorpia were seated on one of the split-log benches together, the bags of marshmallows and chocolate between them, content to build their perfect fireside snacks as s’mores were meant to be. They were the only ones.

Entrapta was crouched near the fire, bending close enough that Scorpia felt the need to make a cautionary comment about long pigtails and flammability. The flickering orange light reflected back in Entrapta’s red eyes, making them seem literally alight as the techie muttered and theorized over a complicated series of tin foil structures leading outward from the blaze. “To direct and concentrate the firelight for instant toasting!” she had explained. At least she was wearing gloves, Adora thought wearily.

Perfuma sat on the sand cross-legged a little ways behind Entrapta. She sat with her back against the log where Bow and Glimmer were perched, happily munching away at some plain graham crackers, which Bow had made very sure were vegan before buying. 

Bow himself was leaning intently toward the fire (though not as intently as Entrapta), his eyes laser focused on the marshmallow at the end of his skewer. He had declined to turn his dessert into a s’more, insisting instead on toasting it to a perfect golden brown and eating it ‘pure,’ in his own words. 

Glimmer sat beside him eating her third marshmallow straight from the skewer—not that the blackened, crusty lump was recognizable as a marshmallow anymore. 

Frosta was in the middle of immolating her own dessert on the next bench over, and no one was sure whether that was just because Glimmer had done so or because Frosta was a dangerously suppressed destructive force. The first time the two girls plunged their skewers into the fire, Bow had regarded them both with a critical eye and fumed, “That is an abomination!” but since then he’d given up trying to redeem their shameful mallow-charring habits.

“I like to think of it as chaotic good,” Glimmer had explained, taking a crispy bite. Then her gaze slid to the space beside Frosta, where Catra was sprawled with her stomach across the log and her face toward the fire, and she wrinkled her nose. “And _that_ is definitely chaotic evil.” 

Catra looked up from snagging the bag of mini chocolate bars with one clawlike nail. Her mouth was already full of loose marshmallows and graham crackers, but she held Glimmer’s eyes pointedly and stuffed a handful of chocolate in anyway. Then she smiled, showing off the whole mess.

“Eww! Adora, get your girl!” Glimmer shrieked, turning away in disgust and throwing up her free hand to block out the sight.

Adora jumped, nearly fumbling a finished s’more into the flames. She was glad for the ruddy firelight, because it disguised the blush that rushed immediately to her cheeks. “Uh, she’s not my—”

“Would you freaking _stop?_ ” Mermista’s voice cut in. Before anyone could ask, the mermaid girl was suddenly on her feet and racing after a giddily laughing Sea Hawk, who had just vaulted Frosta’s bench and stolen a loaded skewer. He held it aloft with a flaming marshmallow impaled at its tip like a symbol of rebellion. 

“We banned you from the fire for a _reason!_ ” Mermista raged in probably the greatest display of emotion of her whole life. Her bare feet kicked up sand as she chased him round and over the dunes, murder written all over her face. There was an ongoing, high-pitched squeal filling the air and it took everyone a moment to realize that it was Sea Hawk screaming in fear as his marshmallow trailed flames behind him. It was quite the scene, but it at least distracted everyone from targeting Adora and Catra.

Once Mermista had tired herself out, Sea Hawk was finally allowed back into the circle, but not without a vow of, “This is not over, Sea Hawk,” from his fuming girlfriend. They both collapsed onto the vacant fourth bench and Mermista slumped against his shoulder, which pretty effectively emptied her threat.

“Yes, dearest,” Sea Hawk conceded with an unconcerned grin, sandwiching his burned mallow between two crackers and wolfing it down in a single bite. He was oblivious to the well-hidden smile Mermista slid him, but the rest of them saw. Scorpia even uttered a low, “Aww.”

Things mellowed out, as it were, in the wake of their scuffle. The fire was burning low and the sky had gone dark except for the stars and the orange glow of Panama city. Everyone’s bellies were comfortably (and in some cases, uncomfortably) full of various combinations of crackers, marshmallows and chocolate, and they were left content to lounge in their little ring of firelight as if it were the only place in the world.

Bow was the first one to break the companionable silence, first stretching and yawning broadly and then looking around the circle to ask, “So what do you guys want to do with the rest of our night?”

Glimmer hummed absently, half-dozing against his shoulder as the hour caught up with her. “I’m open.”

There was a pause that no one felt the need to fill, except apparently Sea Hawk, who cleared his throat and twiddled his thumbs.

Everyone’s attention turned to him, and more than one face morphed into a look of dread. “Oh no,” Mermista said first, sitting up to face him squarely and demanding with a dangerous edge to her voice, “What did you do?”

Sea Hawk coughed into his shirt collar and pointedly avoided her gaze. The poor man was literally sweating, and it might not have been because of the Florida heat. “I, um…” he began, uncharacteristically meek. “I…” He glanced back at Mermista to gauge whether she was still staring him down, and when she was, he caved and admitted nervously, “I have sparklers.”

“Are you freaking _serious?_ ”

The whole circle broke into a fit of laughter, once it was clear that Mermista was not actually about to throttle her boyfriend with her bare hands (because they all knew that she totally could).

In the end, nobody minded the sparklers. They were actually a hit, to be honest. As soon as Sea Hawk broke out the box of them from some hidden place on his person, Mermista grabbed one first, ironically, and proceeded to pick up their deadly game of tag where they’d left off.

“How do _you_ like it?” her voice carried across the sand as they ran and ran, sparks fountaining from her hand and landing just on Sea Hawk’s heels. He was screaming again, very bravely.

Back around the embers of the fire, the others were a bit more subdued. The most excited by the sparklers themselves was Entrapta, who gazed raptly as one shot off in her hand. “The tiny combustions have the appearance of firing neurons,” she breathed in awe. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“You need to live a little, Entrapta,” Glimmer said to her, coming to crouch next to her and grabbing an unlit wand of her own. Her pink-dyed hair almost literally glittered in the erratic light as she smiled. “You should hang out with us more often.”

Entrapta gasped, shooting up very straight in her seat. “Can I?” she crowed.

“Ultimate Pal Squad is becoming canon!” Scorpia bellowed gladly, lunging off her bench to catch them both in an enormous hug. Bow gave a yell of approval and fell onto the pile with them, and the girls didn’t seem to mind at all. Even Entrapta, who usually avoided physical contact at all costs, matched her enthusiasm with a grin.

Adora watched them all with a dreamy sort of happiness of her own. Mermista and Sea Hawk; Scorpia and Entrapta and Bow and Glimmer; even Frosta and Perfuma, who were currently arguing about _how_ bad an idea it could _really_ be for Frosta to stick three sparklers between the fingers of each hand like Wolverine and chase the others around—they were at peace. They were together, Bright Moon and Keston, and they were being their genuine, quirky selves and enjoying each other on a deep and poignant level and it all seemed so surreal here, lit by little stars fallen to earth and surrounded by nature at rest.

She was so caught up in the moment that she hadn’t noticed Catra creep up beside her. She hadn’t been trying to be stealthy, really, but she’d always had that fittingly catlike kind of grace that made it so easy.

“Hey, Adora.”

The murmured words broke the blonde out of her reverie, and she turned and met Catra’s two-toned eyes from inches away. She thought that Catra looked stunning in the red light of the fire and the gold luminance of the sparklers but the words caught in her throat and instead she just smiled, sincerely.

“Hey.”

They gazed at each other for a long moment, the world continuing around them but they themselves seemingly still, untouchable, and it seemed okay. It seemed right. 

Adora felt warm. Her eyes drifted between Catra’s two; those sparkling precious gemstones, and then down to the spatter of freckles on her cheeks, and then down…

Down, and they stopped on her lips.

Would that seem okay, too?

They were better. They were getting better. Today had been a step in the right direction, and yesterday, too, once they’d gotten alone. Catra seemed more…comfortable. Open. The kind of familiar that she only was with Adora and had not been for a year or more. And Adora, for her part, was feeling less and less of a knot in her gut every time she spoke to Catra and more and more butterflies instead. But were they better enough to…?

Catra turned away.

Adora closed her mouth, not having noticed that her lips had come apart and she’d probably been staring at Catra like an idiot this whole time and invading her personal space and—now her face was flushing furiously and she tucked a few loose hairs behind her ear, embarrassed.

Catra didn’t give any indication that she’d noticed except a fleeting, satisfied glance, and then her eyes were trained on the crowd of oddball teenagers who mingled and talked and fought and played around them, wrapped in the security of the night. Her lips twitched up at the sight of them.

“They’re all a big old mess, aren’t they?” she observed, but her voice was fond. Fond even of the Bright Moon slice of the pie, Adora dared think. Who would have thought it possible?

“Yeah,” she agreed softly. Her own eyes never left Catra’s face. She peered through them half-lidded, as if she could soften the weight of her gaze that way, so maybe Catra wouldn’t feel it upon her. “We all are.”

It didn’t work. Catra felt, and she turned, but no hint of teasing entered her face when she caught Adora’s stare. Instead she let that ghost of a smile grow into a real one—one meant just for Adora—and her hand bumped lightly against Adora’s on the bench. 

Adora felt an answering smile come to life on her own lips. Holding her breath, she lifted her fingers, carefully, and let them move ever so slightly to lay across Catra’s, carefully. Lightly, just in case the other girl wanted to pull away.

Catra didn’t pull away. And it seemed okay. 

It seemed right.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I finished writing this fic yesterday! Should I post a chapter a day now, or make you all wait?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pack some...supplies

Sea Hawk insisted on making breakfast in the morning in order to win back Mermista’s good graces. Not that it would actually serve to do so, since he couldn’t cook to save his life (plus Mermista wasn’t actually mad at him—she seemed to have run out her annoyance chasing him with a sparkler last night).

Fortunately, Scorpia volunteered to help him. Unfortunately, she was also a terrible cook.

It took a few dropped eggs, a mix-up between black pepper and chili pepper, and a near miss with the smoke alarm before Bow stepped in to avert any further disasters. He was an expert at making the others feel as if they were being helpful while simultaneously keeping them from doing anything important to the actual food prep. He’d say, “Sea Hawk, I need you to slice this bread so all the pieces are one inch thick. Yes, you can pretend you’re fencing with a dastardly pirate captain,” but then oversee the toasting himself, or instruct Scorpia, “Would you look up the recipe to vegetarian omelettes, please?” even though he already knew it by heart. And, blessedly, he could cook it well.

The smoky haze in the kitchen gradually began smelling like actual food instead of charred garbage the longer Bow commanded the stove. The others, who had straggled into the Bright Moon common room in ones and twos over the course of the morning (Catra with a sour “did Entrapta blow up the microwave again?”), deflated in a collective show of relief.

The food even looked like food when Bow let Scorpia and Sea Hawk carry everyone’s plates to the table and couch. They (well, Bow) had prepared fluffy omelettes full of veggies, cheese, and sausage for those who liked it. They were so generously sized they took up the whole plate, and if unfolded they were revealed to be shaped like hearts, naturally.

“Breakfast is served,” Scorpia announced triumphantly as she passed out the plates. As she got to Perfuma, who was perched on the smaller couch by Entrapta, she gushed, “And we even made a vegan portion just for you!”

Catra lay sprawled deliberately over the larger couch so that no one else could use it. She narrowed her eyes at Perfuma’s dish and asked suspiciously, “What are vegan eggs even made of?”

“Ah, well, nothing, in this case,” Scorpia explained sheepishly, rubbing her neck. “We didn’t have any good alternatives so we just didn’t give her eggs. Or sausage. Or cheese.” She looked increasingly more uncomfortable the more she spoke. “It’s, uh, just the vegetables that would have gone in the omelette! So basically broccoli and tomatoes and mushrooms. And also juice.” She took an offered glass of orange juice from Sea Hawk’s hand and held it up with a flair.

Perfuma took the plate of cooked vegetables with a gentle smile. “It’s lovely, Scorpia,” she assured the bigger girl. “Thank you.” She ignored the distasteful look that Catra threw her meal. Or, more likely, she just didn’t notice.

Scorpia beamed at the praise. “Yeah sure! Sea Hawk and Bow helped too. We’re the Super Cooks Trio!” She looked fairly smug. “I came up with that.”

“Looks like too many cooks to me,” Catra mumbled into her plate, shoving a forkful of sausage-heavy omelette into her mouth. Luckily Scorpia didn’t hear.

Adora, however, turned around in her chair at the table and shot her a glare. “Just eat your eggs,” she scolded. Catra showed her a mouthful of half-masticated food and she quickly turned away with a disgusted scoff.

Once everyone else was served, Scorpia, Sea Hawk and Bow joined the group and Scorpia plopped herself down on the couch by Catra, forcing the brunette to recoil quickly if she valued her legs. “Hey, Wildcat,” she greeted her obliviously. “Wanna see this video Entrapta showed me last night? It has cats. You’ll like it.”

Catra stretched out her legs again and deposited them across Scorpia’s lap simply out of spite. “Whatever,” she replied, still chewing. It wasn’t exactly a no, so Scorpia pulled out her big black Samsung Galaxy and began navigating to the video.

A prickle on the back of her neck told Catra that someone was watching her, and she glanced up immediately to catch Adora’s eyes on her. She raised her brows and smirked and Adora looked away, frowning. What was that about?

Scorpia pulled up the video and Catra didn’t think about it any longer.

After they’d eaten and Bow started collecting their dirty dishes (“Please, allow me.”), the group began to disperse again. Scorpia went to the kitchen to help Bow clean the dishes, Sea Hawk grilled Mermista on the quality of her meal as if he’d been wholly responsible for its making, and the rest went to get presentable for the day. Catra watched Glimmer in particular as she shuffled off to take a shower, still half-asleep. Then she sidled up behind Adora’s chair before the blonde could stand.

She gripped the backrest and leaned down. “Say, Adora,” she murmured close to her ear, almost a purr, “remember how you talked about putting crabs in Glimmer’s bed?”

Adora turned her head and their eyes met, and a smirk to match Catra’s own flashed onto her face.

***

They didn’t get very far before their prank hit a wall.

Perfuma intercepted them in the hall between their room and the exit, hands on her hips, effectively cutting off any route of escape. Her usually pleasant features were scrunched into an attempt at a scowl. It made Catra want to burst out laughing more than cower in fear, but she controlled herself so as not to get them driven into deeper trouble. “I will _not_ condone such animal-endangering behavior! Crabs are living creatures with feelings and fears just like you or me,” the flower girl was saying firmly. She was cutting them off from escaping to the breezeway and it didn’t look like she was about to budge.

Catra groaned softly and leaned toward Adora to grumble into her ear, “Gah, why did you even let her in on the prank? Of course she wouldn’t like it.”

“ _I_ didn’t tell her anything,” Adora hissed back. “I swear it’s like she has an animal-rights-protection radar.” She was hiding their crab-catching bucket and net behind her back to avoid incurring Perfuma’s wrath anew. The two of them began subtly inching backwards toward their room while the eco-warrior’s rant continued.

“Well, now we’re out of the crab market,” Catra complained. “I hope you have another idea.”

Adora gave a tiny shrug. “We could use fake ones.”

“If it’s _fake_ it defeats the purpose of using a creepy-crawly. Glimmer’s not going to be freaked out if it’s not moving.” Catra was still speaking through her teeth, even though they were far enough away that Perfuma was not in great danger of hearing them. She had apparently moved on to discussing the role of crabs in maintaining the balance of the oceanic ecosystem.

“Well what’s your bright idea?”

That shut Catra up for a moment. She pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes in actual thought, which was a pleasant surprise to Adora, who had just expected further sass. Then—“ _Oh!_ ”

“What?” Perfuma paused to demand.

Adora flinched and ventured a glance at Catra. “Care to share?” she asked tightly.

Catra looked at her and her eyes were brimming with mischief and triumph and Adora was very nearly afraid to find out why. The brunette didn’t give her a chance to argue, though, before she directed, “Wait right here,” and bounded off toward their room again.

Adora was left to fearfully shrink under Perfuma’s disapproving gaze until Catra came back. When she returned she was slightly out of breath, from exertion or excitement it was hard to say. Her hands were hidden behind her back and both Adora and Perfuma noted that fact with a bit of dread.

“What do you have?” Perfuma said slowly, suspiciously.

Catra’s grin showed all her teeth. “Oh, nothing,” she said, and Adora very much hoped she knew what she was doing, because she felt sure Perfuma would flay them both if this little stroke of apparent genius was a failure. “Just…” she raised one shoulder in a coy shrug before revealing her hands with a flourish— “This.”

Perfuma and Adora stared. A little contraption born of metal, wires and what looked like a round camera lens was cradled in her grasp. Its body was spherical and about the size of a softball, and three spidery mechanical legs and an antenna protruded from its smooth sides. The lens in the middle made it seem as though it was looking at them.

“And what is that?” Adora asked tentatively.

Catra’s look of pure pride didn’t falter. “Emily,” she said as if that explained it. When no one seemed satisfied, she added, “Entrapta’s senior robotics project.” She looked down at the little robot (which oddly enough Adora had to describe as ‘cute’) and rubbed its head area affectionately with one finger. When she returned her gaze to the others, her smile had turned devious again.

“Glimmer’s going to wet her pants when this baby shows up in her bed.”

***

They were called back to the Bright Moon common room a short while later for an impromptu ‘town meeting,’ as Bow put it. It turned out to just be Mermista filling them in on the plan for the evening, but he still insisted on calling her their ‘mayor’ when she stood up in front of them and explained in a monotone: “So, like, my dad reserved us a table at the restaurant downstairs for dinner tonight. It’s kind of fancy, so wear something, I dunno, nice?” She paused and zeroed in on her boyfriend sternly, adding, “—and don’t stick shrimp in your mouth like walrus tusks, Sea Hawk.” When he deflated, she turned back to the rest of them and shrugged loosely. “Dinner’s at 6, so until then we can just, like, hang out or go to the beach or whatever you guys want to do.”

Sea Hawk forgot his disappointment instantly and sat up stick-straight. “Boating!” he cried.

“No,” Mermista denied.

Sea Hawk looked as if he were about ready to get down on his knees and beg, but Perfuma saved everyone the awkwardness of being caught between the two halves of Seamista (again) by clearing her throat delicately and contributing, “I was actually thinking about going down to the beach and picking up garbage along the shore!” She looked around the circle earnestly. “Would anyone like to help me?”

“I’m already way too good at picking up garbage,” Catra mumbled under her breath so that only Adora could hear her, punctuating the insult with a sly sideways look. Adora scowled at her if only to hide her rising blush.

“Ooh, saving the whales! I’ll come,” Scorpia said enthusiastically.

Entrapta gave a hum of discontent. “I would, but I’m in the middle of an important project!” she cried, and, to her credit, actually looked fairly upset that she couldn’t join them in collecting trash. Her frown only lasted for a moment, though, before it was replaced by her usual mad-genius grin. “A massive breakthrough is imminent, I can feel it.”

Perfuma’s distraction didn’t last for long. Luckily, though, it gave she and her eco-helper an opening to escape before Sea Hawk circled around to his same old haunt. “Dearest, are you absolutely _sure_ we can’t go boating?” he whined to his girlfriend while Perfuma and Scorpia waved to the rest of them and slid out the door. “It’s what I live for!”

Mermista fell onto the smaller sofa in the space Scorpia had just vacated. “Ugh, Sea Hawk, stop being so dramatic,” she groaned, throwing her head back against the cushions.

“You don’t want to leave me bereft, do you?” he pressed, turning on his full puppy-dog look. He walked on his knees over to the couch so that she had to try very hard to keep from looking him in the eye. “You wouldn’t deprive me of the _adventure?_ ”

Mermista shot him a glare. “I know what ‘adventure’ means and I am not about to let you set my dad’s boat on fire,” she snapped.

Sea Hawk hopped to his feet, apparently interpreting this as a step in the right direction. He pressed a hand to his heart and announced much too loudly, “I pledge to you that I will not! All I ask is a chance, dear Mermista. Let me show you how much of a top-notch sailor I really am!” He ended with his face turned skyward as if basking in the physical light of his own glory.

“Ughhhh.” Mermista used up her entire lung capacity on one single groan before sighing and admitting grudgingly, “My dad has some boats and jet skis and stuff that he said we could use if we’re _responsible_ with them.”

“ _Yes!_ ” Sea Hawk bellowed, pumping his fists in triumph and jumping onto the coffee table _again_ (what was with him and that table? Adora thought helplessly). He sucked in a massive breath and before anyone could stop him he began to sing: “ _Oohhhhh…_ ”

He was cut off by a pillow to the face, which conveniently knocked him off his perch in the process.

“I said responsible!” Mermista repeated. She was brandishing another pillow lest he protest.

“Yes, dear.”

As things calmed down on the Seamista front and the two of them struck off toward the ocean in search of a boat to handle ‘responsibly,’ those left in the common room breathed a sigh of relief.

Glimmer sank into the cushions of the larger couch and looked across at Bow, who occupied the other end. “Well, looks like we’re on our own,” she said, slowly, as if she were hatching a devious plan. “…with complete control of the TV.”

Bow’s face gradually cracked into a grin that matched the conspiratory color of her words. “This sounds like the perfect time for…”

“High School Musical marathon!” they both cheered, sitting up to grasp each other’s hands across the distance of the couch. Then Glimmer rolled upright to seek out the TV remote and they hunched over it like a pair of children over a forbidden treat.

“High School Musical?” muttered Catra to Adora, beneath Bow and Glimmer’s hearing. “Don’t those movies suck?”

“Depends who you ask,” Adora said with forced graciousness.

“The answer is yes,” Frosta explained with much less tact. The two girls turned to her, not having realized she was listening, and watched her produce a computer from a black carry bag by her side. “That’s why I brought my laptop—to escape the inevitable cringy movie marathon Glimmer would suggest.”

Suddenly Catra’s eyes were round and interested. “You got games?” she questioned, coming to lean over Frosta’s armrest as the smaller girl powered up the device.

“Of course I have games,” Frosta answered, shooting her an offended glare, “but they’re all single player.” She slid her recently acquired Skyrim disc from the computer bag’s front pocket and held it up briefly. “You’re welcome to watch, though.”

Catra feigned an indifferent shrug, though Adora could clearly see the way she eyed the technology as if it were a juicy cut of meat. “Not like I have anything better to do,” she said offhandedly.

Frosta looked around for Entrapta, but the purple-pigtailed girl had apparently disappeared at some point while they were distracted, so only Adora and Catra stood up and accompanied the shorter girl to her bedroom. “Her loss,” she muttered to nobody in particular.

Walking into the room that Frosta shared with Mermista, Bow and Glimmer was like stepping into the wreckage of a cyclone-ravaged Pride parade. Clothes and bathing suits in bright colors of every known hue were strewn about in meandering paths from the owners’ suitcases, which lay open on the floor like gaping mouths. The beds were unmade and draped with yet more clothes, plus space- and ocean-themed blankets, respectively. There was hardly enough free floor place to step safely.

“What the flying—”

“ _Homey,_ ” Adora cut off whatever Catra could possibly have intended to say. She slid the brunette a warning glance and Catra stuck out her tongue in answer.

“It’s disgusting,” Frosta articulated what had really been going through all of their minds. “I don’t know how they live like this.” She navigated the treacherous carpet to the foot of the bed with the ocean-print blanket, which she presumably shared with Mermista, and plopped down. “Plug this in,” she commanded Adora, handing her a power cable without further ado.

“Um…okay.” Adora took it gingerly and guided it to the nearest outlet, ignoring Catra’s barely-stifled laughter. She did not want to know how pleased the other girl was to watch her get ordered around like a foot servant.

Frosta navigated through her machine and Catra hovered over her shoulder, forgetting to look uninterested in what she was doing. Adora came and sat on the other side of Catra and nudged her teasingly. Catra shot her a scowl.

“Entrapta said she was going to install a custom program to free up disc space and cut down on download time, but I don’t know if she did that yet,” Frosta narrated her trip to the File Explorer program and searched through the list. Her cursor paused on one file in particular and Frosta flashed a rare smile. “She did. Okay.” She tilted her head and inserted her new Skyrim disc into the port on the side. “Let’s do this thing.”

The other girls watched her click around for another moment before Catra asked with poorly disguised impatience, “Can’t you play it yet?”

Frosta grunted a negative without looking away from her screen. “It has to download even if you’re using a physical disc since it launches through Steam.”

“Oh,” Catra pretended to understand.

“How long does that take?” Adora asked, if only to save Catra the indignity of having to do so.

Frosta shot her an annoyed look. “As long as it needs to.”

The girls shut up after that.

Catra soon grew bored of waiting and flopped back on the bed. After rolling around for a while, announcing her boredom at regular intervals with dramatic sighs, she caught Mermista’s soft blue blanket between both hands and mashed at it with her fingertips like a cat kneading. Adora looked at her and tried to suppress a smile, unsuccessfully. 

Catra caught her look. “What?” she grumbled.

Adora shrugged innocently. “Nothing,” she lied, a grin tugging harder at her lips. She couldn’t help herself. “ _Cat_ -ra.”

Catra narrowed her eyes and released the blanket as if caught doing something illicit. “You think you’re funny, huh?” she challenged sourly. She pushed herself up so she was leaning back on her hands. “You going to start trying to pet me next?” That made Adora blush despite herself, and Catra seemed to notice and her expression melted from one of irritation to something more like embarrassment. Her blue and gold gaze slid away. “Never mind.”

There was a pause.

“Only if you want.”

Wow, _what_ on God’s green earth had possessed Adora to say a thing like that? She snapped her mouth closed and tried to pretend she hadn’t but Catra’s eyes had just flicked back to hers in shock and now she was trapped beneath the weight of sky and sun. She swallowed. If she’d been blushing already, now she was practically on fire.

“Well, this is awkward,” Frosta announced loudly like the sensitive saint she was.

Catra sent her a withering look that did no damage, because her back was turned. Then her attention returned to Adora and oddly enough her expression softened and she wet her lips uncertainly. She didn’t quite seem like she _didn’t_ want to be pampered like a cat. She shifted her weight between her two hands and Adora watched her, rendered speechless in disbelief. She’d at least expected a biting comment, if not a scratch across the eyeballs altogether. But Catra was…considering it?

No. That couldn’t be right.

Adora felt the need to fill the silence Frosta had so delicately described as awkward. “Sorry, it was just a joke. I shouldn’t’ve—”

“We’ve got nothing better to do,” Catra blurted.

“Why don’t you guys go ahead and make out on my bed, too, while you’re at it?” Frosta cut in, her voice full of poison. “Might as well get straight to the point.”

“Don’t give me any ideas, Snowflake,” Catra shot back purely out of spite, carefully keeping her eyes from flitting to Adora of their own volition. Now that she’d been provoked, it seemed an act of defiance when she crawled to Adora and let herself fall beside her in a heap, head on the blonde’s lap. Once there Catra looked up at her and purred in what was almost a challenge: “Hey, Adora.”

“God, can this get any worse?” Frosta groaned to no one in particular as Adora faltered helplessly for a response and Catra laughed at her wickedly. Then she sat up straight. “Ooh, it’s downloaded. Entrapta’s program really did work.”

Adora was offered a welcome relief from trying to form a coherent thought and focused her attention on Frosta’s screen gratefully. Catra too rolled over so that she could watch the smaller girl enter into the game.

“Now, usually you would have to start over from scratch when you download a new game, but Entrapta…”

Frosta’s explanation was lost on the two girls as Adora’s hand descended carefully, tentatively into Catra’s hair and began to stroke in a slow rhythm and their focus evaporated. 

Catra leaned into her hand. Adora couldn’t think straight. It was inconceivable to her that she was actually here doing this right now, sitting with Catra—well, somewhat _under_ Catra—touching her and not getting torn to shreds in recompense. She couldn’t believe that Catra (who was paying minimal attention for someone who had been so antsy for Frosta’s game to begin) was allowing her to do this, much less enjoying it, when just days ago they were hardly on speaking terms. She felt as if her chest cavity was full to bursting with the volume of her suppressed joy. They were getting _better_. Like she’d wanted for the past year. Like she’d imagined but never really let herself hope because Catra could be so stubborn and her grudges, man—

“Don’t stop,” Catra murmured, and Adora jumped slightly, not having realized that her hand had gone still.

She dutifully started to comb through Catra’s thick mane again, running her short nails over her scalp and stressing her curling locks until the brunette’s eyelids drooped in pleasure or drowsiness or both. She felt Catra inhale and sigh contentedly against her, and a fresh wave of quiet excitement shot through her.

If this is what their path to healing looked like, that was perfectly fine with Adora.

As Catra dozed in her lap and the motion of her hand became like second nature to her, Adora tuned in to Frosta’s game and realized that she had no clue what was going on. Frosta, however, seemed to manipulate the keys like an expert and it certainly showed in the way she hacked and blazed through sword-wielding enemies against a dimly lit, mountainous backdrop.

She fell into a bit of a trance watching the smaller girl breeze through quests and trek down the detailed paths of forested wilderness and Nordic-style cities. Frosta was so good that nothing seemed to give her trouble, not even the fight with a big frost-breathing dragon or the weird magic floating zombie guy that appeared after its defeat.

She even scattered witty comments throughout her play, like when she walked by a city guard and the man asked, “Trouble?” only for her to reply: “Yeah—me!” and promptly steal a nearby woman’s necklace from right around her neck.

The only hitch in her dragon-slaying adventures came when a quest apparently wouldn’t work and Frosta was left groaning, “Ugh, this is so glitchy, I can’t even talk to Sapphire,” and running in frustrated circles around a frowning female NPC. She paused the game to navigate to Google and look up a Skyrim help page, but exited out quickly, unsatisfied. “Whatever. Let’s try killing this bish Shadr,” she decided, pulling out her character’s bow.

Adora took a moment to register what she’d said. Then shock and incredulity rose and she demanded, “ _What_ did you just call her?”

“Him,” Frosta corrected, unfazed. She assassinated ‘that bish Shadr,’ groaned loudly when it didn’t fix the bug, and reloaded her last save file. 

Adora guessed she shouldn’t be surprised that Frosta was softcore swearing; she hung out with people like Mermista and Catra, after all. She was debating whether to launch into a matronly lecture anyway, though, when abruptly Frosta dropped the laptop into her lap next to Catra and stood up. “I have to pee. Cover for me,” she instructed.

“Uh—” Adora didn’t even get a chance to protest before Frosta had slammed the bathroom door behind her and she was left with control of the game. “I don’t, uh…” She tapped experimentally at the control keys and nearby sent Frosta’s character over a cliff, then winced. “…have any idea what I’m doing,” she said weakly into the empty air.

Her voice roused Catra and the brunette shifted on her lap with a little noise like a growl. She stretched and turned on her side so she could watch Adora play. Actually, scratch that— _fail_ to play, Adora thought as she actually fell off the virtual cliff this time and died. But Catra seemed content to lean on her and watch without commenting for a while, at least until Adora had bungled several more quests and fights (because, why did her character keep yelling instead of sprinting like she meant to?)

It was then that Catra snorted a light laugh. “Man, you’re terrible at this,” she observed.

“Stop watching me play if you’re just going to be rude,” Adora snapped, already frustrated by her inability to succeed at the game. She held herself to the highest standard and being beaten over and over by some dumb game was _not_ making her happy. “Go check on Frosta.” She’d meant it mostly as a means to get Catra to shut up, but saying it made Adora realize that the smaller girl had actually been gone for a good twenty minutes.

“Ugh, why me?” Catra protested, flopping back bonelessly against her.

“You’re not busy,” Adora replied without taking her eyes from the screen.

“You’re not either!” Catra sat up to gesture indignantly at the screen. “Look, you just died again.” When Adora gave her a dirty glare that left no room to argue, the brunette groaned loudly and dragged herself off the bed, whining, “ _Fiiine._ ” She slouched across to the bathroom door connected to the far wall and pounded on it gracelessly. “Hey, Frost Face, did you fall in?”

A muffled retort came from behind the door: “Leave me alone!”

Catra, eager for any chance to slip out of her responsibility, shrugged and gave up immediately. “Suit yourself,” she said. But as she turned back to the bed, Adora pinned her with a scowl. _Seriously?_ Catra’s look complained, but the blonde was adamant. She pointed to the bathroom door sternly, and Catra grudgingly turned back and slumped heavily against it. “Never mind,” she said, voice dripping with acid, “Adora won’t let me. So what’s the problem in there?” She rapped a knuckle on the upper panel.

“Hey!” Frosta snapped from within, startled by the noise. Then there was a pause, and when she spoke again it was low and almost tentative. “Can you…is Glimmer around?”

Catra cast a look at Adora for guidance and Adora paused the game and hopped up to go check. It was funny, she thought while she peered into the common room, that Catra hated when Adora was the capable one—except when she was trying to dodge responsibility. She didn’t really mind; she’d taken care of Catra since they were small, and she was happy to keep doing so if the girl wouldn’t mind it. It was a good sign that she didn’t mind it right now, right?

In the common room she found Glimmer slumped against Bow’s shoulder, asleep, as High School Musical played quietly in the background. She winced and Bow gave her a questioning look, but she waved it off reassuringly. She leaned back inside Frosta’s room and gave Catra a shake of the head.

Catra’s look went from hopeful to sour immediately. She glared at the door as if the heat of her gaze might burn through to the girl on the other side. “Looks like Glitzball can’t come to the phone right now,” she grated. “You’re stuck with me.”

“Ugh, great.”

Catra narrowed her eyes. “Or I could go see if Sea Hawk—”

“No!” Even Adora could hear Frosta’s voice echo off the bathroom tiles from where she stood. Then she went quiet, and there was a barely audible sigh. “I…I just…this is embarrassing.”

Catra wrinkled her nose at the implications. “You get a hemorrhoid or something?”

“No!”

“Then what? A rash?”

“Ugh, I got my period, okay?” Frosta exploded in frustration.

Catra stopped, taken aback. Then she laughed. “ _That’s_ what you’re freaked out about? Don’t worry, Snowflake, every girl gets them.” She leaned against the door with a little more ease, apparently relieved not to have to deal with a rash or hemorrhoid.

Frosta’s response was little more than a grumble: “I know, but _I_ never have.”

“Oh.” Catra looked surprised again, and then Adora saw her brows furrow. “How _old_ are you?”

Adora bit back a laugh, but at the same time she felt a little ashamed. She hadn’t mentioned to Catra that Frosta wasn’t actually one of their classmates. It hadn’t really seemed important. Well, until now, at Catra’s expense. She grimaced apologetically when Catra shot her a betrayed look. _You didn’t ask!_ she tried to communicate.

“Twelve,” Frosta told her defensively.

Catra glared harder at Adora even as she said to the closed door, “What the heck? How are you on this trip then?”

Frosta’s voice took on a mocking kind of edge. “I’m part of this program for kids without any friends and Glimmer is my mentor and her mom made her invite me,” she explained with no subtle hint of bitterness. Adora’s face prickled with shame again and she felt a pang of sympathy for the younger girl. Glimmer hadn’t said it exactly _that_ way when she told everyone why Frosta was coming, but there had definitely been some tension there. Now Adora understood why.

Catra thought the same. “Oh, that’s…blunt,” she mumbled, her eyes on the floor. Adora felt her heart tug again at the look on Catra’s face.

_She knows what it’s like to be one of those kids._

And Adora had rescued her from that, for a while. But then…

Then she left Catra on her own again.

The black spot of shame was growing and growing. We’re better, she tried to remind herself. We’re getting better.

“Yeah, well, what did you expect?” Frosta fought off any trace of pity with practiced aggression. That wasn’t such a foreign tactic to Adora. She’d dealt with it her whole childhood.

Catra apparently didn’t realize that. “Have you ever tried not acting like a prickly little gremlin?” she snapped.

“Catra!” Adora was horrified.

Frosta beat her to any further rebuke. “You’re one to talk.”

Adora’s eyebrows shot up. Maybe Catra and Frosta were better for each other than anyone had first suspected. The same threads of loneliness and bitterness underlined their personalities, but maybe that wasn’t a recipe for disaster but an opportunity for solidarity. Neither took the other’s crap, but somehow it seemed as though they were still on the same page. Adora wouldn’t have ever expected that. Whenever _she_ tried to be firm with Catra, it backfired monumentally.

“Touché,” Catra admitted with a slight lift of her own brows, impressed. “So what do you need Glimmer for? Just stick a pad on and be done with it.”

Frosta sounded as though she were speaking through her teeth when she explained, “We’re at the beach. A pad would get all wet.”

“Oh, you need help with a _tampon?_ ” Catra chuckled helplessly. “That’s above my pay grade, kid.”

“Don’t _tell_ everyone!” Frosta hissed. “This is embarrassing enough already. Everyone else here is older than me and more capable than me and they’ve probably been having periods for like ten years and I’ll look stupid for not knowing how to deal with it.” She fell silent abruptly as if she’d bitten down on the words.

The usual teasing cast of Catra’s features was gone and replaced by a rare look of compassion. “If it makes you feel any better, I hate using tampons. I tore something last time,” she said.

“That definitely does _not_ make me feel better,” Frosta cried. She paused. “Maybe I should ask Adora for help instead.”

Catra’s face hardened again, just like that. “No.” Her voice had a dangerous edge, and Adora found herself looking away, stung. So much for Catra not minding her being the capable one. But what had she expected? Nothing had _really_ changed, had it? “Like I said, you’re stuck with me. So let’s do this stupid thing,” the brunette continued, sounding less angry now and more like she was accepting a challenge. She turned around and sat down with her back against the bathroom door. Her jaw was set. “You have one in there with you?”

“Yeah.”

“All right. First…”

Adora sat back down at Frosta’s laptop, if only to have an excuse to subtly listen in as Catra began to talk the younger girl through the ins and outs of feminine products, as it were. Sure, it was awkward, but it was kind of touching, too. No one had ever been able to call Catra ‘good with kids’ (and there was no mistaking otherwise), but the way she was treating Frosta right now was definitely uncharacteristically tender. It was eye-opening, Adora thought, to see Catra be the protector for once. It told her how much her childhood friend had grown during their time apart. She hadn’t just had to look out for herself with Adora gone—she’d practiced looking out for others, too. Because, as much as Adora hated to admit it, they hadn’t done such a stellar job of that during their childhood, as much as they may have tried.

Adora was reminded of the promise she’d made to Catra just a short time after their paths crossed in Weaver’s orphanage and they became fast friends: _You look out for me, and I look out for you. Nothing really bad can happen as long as we have each other,_ she’d said.

Catra met her eyes from across the room, and Adora felt a jolt go through her. Those blue and gold orbs burned into her, so different from the way a young Catra had looked to her tearfully the first time she’d made that promise.

Now, Adora was overwhelmed by a wave of conviction under the weight of that two-toned gaze. Somehow she got the feeling that Catra knew exactly what she was thinking. And Adora felt in turn that she knew Catra’s mind too:

_You promise?_

Adora looked at her, into her, and saw the face of longing laid bare in her heart. Adora felt it too, like a red-hot wire jabbed into her chest. She remembered their past and regretted her failures. She reached ahead toward a hopeful future. And she thought without a shadow of a doubt:

_I promise._

***


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wear your best clothes

A crash rocked the whole apartment.

Most of its occupants looked around for the source, concern in their eyes. Had their upstairs neighbor dropped something heavy? Keeled over dead? Were there mice in the ceiling?

Glimmer, however, didn’t even pause to wonder what the noise had been. She simply raised her head and bellowed into empty space, “Entrapta!”

There was a pause when it seemed like her shout would receive no response.

Then there was a softer _thump_ from somewhere above, a light metallic rattling, and then the vent above the dining table swung open and Entrapta’s purple head, decorated with a layer of dust, popped out. “You called?” the techie replied graciously.

“Come down here, please,” Glimmer said, forcing her voice calm. She had her eyes closed as if in meditation, which was almost worse than it would have been for her to start screaming bloody murder or throwing things.

Entrapta, usually more attuned to technological principles than human emotions, could tell well enough when she was in trouble. She silently wriggled herself out of the air duct and swung down by her gloved hands, landing in the center of the dining table. The impact of her dusty boots with its surface made Glimmer squeeze her eyes shut even tighter, her jaw clenched, and Entrapta winced and climbed to the floor more carefully. As an afterthought, she made a perfunctory attempt to brush away the dirty bootprints.

Once her feet were planted on solid ground, she twiddled her thumbs in nervous guilt like a child called to the principal’s office.

Glimmer certainly played the part of principal like a natural. She opened her eyes and faced the wilting girl sternly, declaring, “I said there wouldn’t be any climbing in the air vents, Entrapta!”

Despite the obvious discomfort of being under Glimmer’s wrath, Entrapta was quick to defend her work. “The air flow was not at maximum efficiency! With so many people staying in such a limited space, the effect of combined body heat on the climate of the room multiplies tenfold! Literally!” she cried, throwing out her arms for emphasis. “Do you want to be _hot?_ ”

Glimmer sighed and dropped her head into her hand, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I _want_ to be allowed to come back here ever again!” she contested. She looked at Entrapta helplessly as if begging her to understand, “If we break the air vents, Mermista’s dad will kick us out for sure.”

“On the contrary, I would consider the air vents _fixed,_ ” Entrapta grumbled in halfhearted protest.

Glimmer looked distressed at seeing the energy go out of the mad genius, and she said in reparation: “I know you’re trying to help, and you probably did fix the AC ‘tenfold’ or whatever—” She smiled weakly and Entrapta returned the gesture, pleased by the praise. “Just—please, Entrapta. Keep the tinkering to a minimum.”

Entrapta put a hand to her chest solemnly as if about to deliver an oath. Then she said, “I can promise no such thing.”

Glimmer’s sigh rivaled the newly-fixed air system. “I need a nap,” she told no one in particular, and then rose off the couch to shuffle to her bedroom, defeated.

She didn’t notice Adora and Catra watching from just beyond the adjoining door, biting their lips to suppress their laughter, shoving each other whenever one failed.

She didn’t notice Entrapta tapping at the screen of her Apple watch, muttering about a missing invention.

She didn’t suspect anything.

Catra and Adora hid their snickers behind their hands.

_Glimmer’s going to wet her pants when—_

A shriek cut the air, louder than any crash of the air vents.

“ _Entraptaaa!_ ” Glimmer’s voice raged. Any shred of forced control was absolutely gone from her grasp.

Adora and Catra lost it.

***

She was still grumpy when they sat down at their table at the Sea Gate, Salineas’s very own five-star seafood restaurant.

The place was all shiny dark wood and teal blue tiled accents that matched the color of the building exterior. The Bright Moon/Keston crowd sat half in a long booth and half in hardwood chairs at a big table near the wall. The booth that sat five of them was upholstered in the same aquatic blue as the accents and patterned with tiny white seashells, and the light fixture that hung over their table was shaded by a decorative seashell of its own. The dark red carpet made a fine counterpoint to the other colors. It also seemed to absorb what little light the fixtures allowed, making the room seem dim, but not uncomfortably so.

Mermista practically blended in with her surroundings as she leaned on the table with a self-satisfied smile, and Adora wondered if her mom had had a hand in designing the place. Sitting here in her complementary habitat, she seemed almost to look like she was actually on the ocean floor.

Actually, no, maybe that was because her hair was physically damp for some reason.

What was that about?

Adora was hesitant to say anything about it, since no one else seemed to notice, but it was really distracting—especially once she realized that Sea Hawk was looking similarly afflicted. She managed to wait until a server had come by to take their drink orders before succumbing to her curiosity.

“Hey, uh, guys?” she spoke after clearing her throat briefly. A few more pairs of eyes turned to her than she’d intended, and suddenly she felt awkward. Too late now. She waved a hand vaguely toward Seamista and said, “How come you’re both, uh, you know…”

When she trailed off Sea Hawk and Mermista exchanged a questioning glance and then turned back to Adora, apparently not understanding.

“—wet,” she finished uncomfortably.

Catra, of course, burst out cackling from where she sat on Adora’s left. Adora shut her up with a swift elbow in the ribs as Mermista sighed mightily and rolled her eyes.

“Sea Hawk thought he knew how to drive a jet ski,” she explained in a grating monotone and sent her boyfriend a scathing look. “He _doesn’t._ ”

Sea Hawk tried to keep from shrinking under her glare and failed. He protested anyway, “But it’s the thought that counts, my dear! And I certainly put a lot of thought into pampering you.” He put on his best charming look, but it was a little undermined by the nervousness in his eyes.

“Getting me soaking wet doesn’t count, Sea Hawk,” Mermista snapped. Then her eyes went wide and she closed her mouth quickly as if to bite off the words, but they were already out.

And Catra was already in fits again. This time when Adora elbowed her, she elbowed back and said in spite of her, “Sure it does.”

“Uh.” Mermista was floundering for a response, her cheeks darkening deeply, and she absolutely refused to look at Sea Hawk. The server returned with their drinks and she tried to use the distraction to deflect the attention, but Catra never stopped smirking. Finally she just implored lamely, “Pretend I didn’t say that.”

“ _Sure,_ Mermista.” It was Glimmer’s turn to look saucy as she stirred her fresh drink; a pink lemonade. Dirty jokes apparently served nicely to pull her out of her prank-induced funk. Adora was quietly glad not to have to withstand her dirty looks from across the table anymore, although it _had_ been kind of priceless to hear her screaming hysterically over the robot found in her bed.

Perfuma, who was sitting in a chair at the far end of the table, leaned over toward them to announce, “I don’t get it.”

“ _Anyway,_ ” Bow shouldered into the conversation, pointedly trying to ignore the snickers of the gutter-minded girls across from and beside him. He looked past Glimmer to Mermista, who was in the next chair over. “Will your dad be mad?” he asked with genuine empathy.

Mermista shrugged offhandedly. “I doubt it. He’s met Sea Hawk before, so he definitely knows what to expect.” She sent her boyfriend another dark look.

Sea Hawk perked up as if that had been a compliment instead of an insult. “I’m convinced he likes me!” he gushed, looking as if he wanted to jump onto the table, but the rules of dinner etiquette prohibited him. Instead he settled for smiling proudly and placing a hand over his heart. “He affectionately calls me by my first name: Cebastian.”

Catra choked on a mouthful of her Coke. “Your name is _Sebastian?_ Like the crab?” she spluttered once her windpipe recovered.

“That’s Cebastian with a _C,_ my fair lady,” the man in question said grandly, “as in C. Hawk, and thus Sea Hawk!” This time he couldn’t resist hopping to his feet, and he accidentally shoved the table several inches forward in his abandon. A nearby server looked in his direction, concern all over her face.

“Sit down, Cebastian,” Mermista ordered him, fixing the table.

“Yes, dear.”

Catra was looking no less shaken after his explanation. She rested her arms on the table and leaned on them, interested. “So, I’m really curious,” she said. “How did you two meet?”

Bow and Glimmer chuckled, apparently having heard the story before. Catra looked between them and then at Adora, a question in her eyes. Adora shrugged. She didn’t know _everything_ about these ‘shiny’ friends of hers, as Catra would call them. Both of them turned their attention to Mermista.

“So I’m like, Bright Moon swim captain, right,” she began after another sigh. Adora wondered briefly if she trained her breath support by sighing constantly. “and Sea Hawk works at the rec center where we practice.”

Both were familiar facts to Adora, though she’d figured that maybe Sea Hawk got the job _after_ meeting Mermista—the subtle stalker kind of fellow he was.

“I’m a lifeguard!” Sea Hawk supported enthusiastically. In his excitement he took over the story, to Mermista’s great annoyance: “In fact, we first met when I valiantly dove from my perch to save the fair Mermista from—”

“For the last time, I was _not_ drowning,” Mermista cut in sharply.

“It was clear you were in distress!”

“That’s called a butterfly stroke, Sea Hawk. It only makes you _look_ like you’re drowning.”

Adora had to laugh. _She’s not wrong._

Sea Hawk spread his hands. “Surely my confusion was understandable.”

“Whatever, Sea Hawk,” Mermista sighed again. Yep, probably why she had such an impressive lung capacity. She slid a hopeless yet affectionate glance toward her boyfriend before turning back to Catra. “So anyway, that’s where it all started,” she summed up. Then her face went red again and she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear reflexively. “It was, like, six months before I forgave him for that and we actually started dating, though.” She kept her eyes firmly on her glass of water.

“That’s so sweet!” put in Scorpia, who’d been listening raptly the whole time, the romantic that she was. She was sitting two seats down from Adora, with Entrapta between them. She nudged the techie with her shoulder and prompted, “Isn’t it sweet?”

Entrapta looked up from her phone for the first time, completely clueless. “Huh?” Adora saw over her shoulder that she was watching Thomas the Tank Engine conspiracy videos, and decided not to comment on that. The Keston grad was saved from having to answer when the server returned to take their meal orders.

“So,” Mermista drawled once the server had gone, a mischievous smile growing on her face, “The real question is, how did _you_ two meet?”

Adora felt Catra stiffen beside her as she realized Mermista was looking at the two of them. “Um—” the brunette faltered.

Adora herself wasn’t too keen on indulging Mermista, either. She knew that if she and Catra started airing their dirty laundry now, in front of everyone, the most likely outcome was disaster. They were in a precarious place when it was just the two of them; let alone an audience. So she tried to keep things vague and non-triggering. “Like I said, we grew up together,” she said, trying to sound casual. “We lived in the same orphanage.”

Mermista saw right through her. “Yeah, yeah, but how did you _meet?_ ” she waved off Adora’s halfhearted explanation and pointed between them scrutinizingly. “How did _this_ all start?”

Adora and Catra shared a glance, neither sure of how to answer. What did Mermista mean by ‘this?’ Their rivalry? Their friendship? Their…whatever had taken root and begun to grow up seedling feelings between them? Adora hoped desperately that it wasn’t the last one. Even she didn’t know how to explain _that_ ‘this.’ She chewed her lip and worried until Catra looked away and left Adora on her own, and the blonde decided that her best bet was to keep playing it safe. Carefully neutral. “How did what?” she asked, turning back to Mermista.

“Oh my gosh, you are literally the most oblivious,” Glimmer burst out as if she’d been trying to hold her tongue for a good while but things had just become too much. Her brown eyes were flickering with impatience.

Bow placed a calming hand on her shoulder. “What she _means_ is, you two obviously have a bond,” he amended tactfully, meeting Adora’s grateful eyes with a smile. “So…why don’t you tell us about that?”

Adora’s lower lip was undergoing some serious abuse. Our bond? she thought. Well, that explanation would have to start way back at the beginning, when they’d first met. Would Catra be comfortable with her sharing that? Their origin story? Their first memory together? She looked to Catra for her input, but the brunette had her head bent inscrutably over her Coke, busy swirling around the ice cubes in the glass with her straw. So that’s how it’s going to be, Adora thought with a sigh.

Everyone was looking at her expectantly, even Entrapta, who had put her conspiracy videos aside in favor of a more interesting subject. What else could she do?

Please don’t hate me, she thought at Catra earnestly.

Then she took a deep breath. “Well,” she began, “I was really little when my parents disappeared, so the first thing I remember is the orphanage. Shivaun Weaver’s orphanage.” Simply saying the name left a bad taste in her mouth, and she saw Catra’s jaw clench, so she rushed on. “She was always nice to me—which turned out to be a really subtle kind of abuse, but I didn’t know that—but when Catra arrived (when we were about six), she seemed to have a vendetta against her or something. Poor Catra would always have more chores than the rest of us, and less to eat than the rest of us—” Adora realized that Catra was twisting her hands together really hard under the table, and she skipped over the rest of that part with a flood of shame. “—but anyway, I didn’t think that was fair so one day at dinner I snuck some food into my pocket and went to go give it to her. I sat down next to her and tried to talk to her but she was as prickly as anything—” _That hasn’t changed._ “—and when I finally went to give her the food, I found out my pocket was empty. She’d already stolen it while I was talking.” She broke off to laugh at the memory and slid a searching glance toward Catra. Her jaw wasn’t quite so tight, but she still wouldn’t look at her.

“I thought that was the greatest thing ever, so I made it kind of a game: every meal I’d sneak some food into my pocket or under the table or behind my plate and see how long it took Catra to steal it. I’m pretty sure Ms. Prostakov, Weaver’s assistant, knew exactly what was going on—” Adora shot a look at Scorpia, who was beaming at the mention of her mother. “—but she let us do it anyway. After a while Catra let me come actually talk to her during the meals. She never said anything, though. You know the first words she actually said to me?”

“‘Go away?’” Entrapta guessed brightly.

Adora laughed. “Actually, it was ‘wanna spy on Kyle with me?’”

“I wanted to know where he and Rogelio kept going off to,” Catra grumbled into the table. “I thought they were doing something dirty.”

“Turns out Rogelio just found a beat-up Rubik’s cube in the dumpster across from ours, and he was trying to teach Kyle the patterns to solve it,” explained Adora. She was grinning in profound relief, pleased beyond words that Catra had contributed without any provocation.

“It was really funny to watch since Rogelio was mute and Kyle was stupid,” Catra added.

“There was a huge communication gap,” Adora agreed, “but the best part was that Kyle finally figured it out. I’d never seen Rogelio so happy before.” Since then is a different story, she thought, remembering the countless other times Rogelio finally succeeded in fending off Kyle’s overwhelming incompetence.

“I seem to have noticed a pattern between your story and Catra’s current behavior,” Entrapta piped up abruptly. “Did you mean to summarize that Catra stole your food and then asked you to spy on people with her, and that was her means to acquiring your friendship?”

Adora felt a jolt go through her. It was the same blood-freezing, stomach-dropping feeling she’d experienced last spring at the Bright Moon prom, when Catra had…

Well, she crashed it. While wearing an absolutely stunning oxblood suit that hugged her— Adora cut off that thought. The point was, she’d used that very same parallel to their past to send an arrow right into Adora’s heart three months ago, while she rubbed her face in the fact that she had new relationships of her own and she was doing _just fine_ on her own, without Adora. And Entrapta…

“I seem to remember Catra noting such a situation that happened between _us!_ Does this mean that Catra wanted to be my friend as well?”

Entrapta had been the means of the insult.

“Uh—” Catra coughed uncomfortably, wringing her hands again, and—was that _regret_ on her face? Catra, rethinking one of her greatest barbs ever thrown at her rival Adora? Now this was a new development. It couldn’t possibly be that Catra…felt _bad_ about using Entrapta and hurting Adora, right?

Because that might mean that she didn’t hate Adora anymore. And that might mean that she maybe _liked_ Adora again. And that—

“Obviously, because that’s what happened!” Scorpia saved them from the increasing pressure of Entrapta’s unanswered question, plus all the tension it had just thrown into the air. When Adora looked at her gratefully, the big girl gave Adora a gentle smile and a nod to continue. Adora had never valued Scorpia’s kind heart more than in that moment.

She cleared her throat. “Well,” she started again, “Yeah. So Catra and I bonded over stolen food and spying on people, and from there one thing led to another and we got to be best friends.”

She intended that to be the end of the story, but Mermista was still looking at her with expectant brown eyes.

“What?” she asked nervously.

Mermista shrugged and smirked. “That's cool and all, but now you have to tell us about the bond you guys have _now,_ princess,” she said.

Oh. So—

Oh.

Just when Adora had thought she might escape explaining anything _really_ compromising…

Of course Mermista wanted to know about them now. Why wouldn’t she? If their dynamic felt confusing to Adora, it must have been ten times so for everyone looking on from the outside. Of course they wanted the juicy details.

She looked at Bow, desperate for him to jump in and save her again, but he spread his hands helplessly. Scorpia, too, was looking at her just as expectantly as the others.

“Um,” Adora tried, and her voice was weak, “Well, the way we are now…” She looked at Catra to find her once again staring into her lap. Right. Adora was on her own in this. It was up to her to decide here and now how she would present their story; not just to her friends, but to Catra herself. This was her chance to tell her how she felt about what had happened—to maybe make her understand. She swallowed.

No pressure.

“Well, we were friends all throughout our childhood. We survived Weaver together, survived the orphanage together until it got shut down—it did, when the authorities found out what Weaver was doing—and Catra went to live with Scorpia and I got adopted unexpectedly by this weird old lady who came out of the woodwork to claim me as her I-don’t-know-how-many-greats-grandmother, but we still stayed in touch. We lived near each other and went to the same school. And then…” She looked at Catra again, sadly, guiltily, and felt that this was the moment of truth. “And then I got accepted into the Bright Moon magnet program, and I thought I couldn’t possibly get a better opportunity to beef up my college resume, so I transferred.” Adora switched her gaze from Catra to the Bright Mooners sitting around the table, their expressions ranging from sympathy to mild discomfort to outright horror, and gave them a timid smile that meant _don’t worry. It’s not your fault._

“After that we kind of had a falling-out. If I’m being honest with myself, it was probably a long time coming. There had been a lot of cracks growing between us for a long time, and everything I did kept making it worse and I didn’t even realize how it was affecting Catra. It was my fault, really.” Adora was no longer recounting their story to the table, but speaking directly to Catra, and Catra had finally lifted her head in something like surprise. They held each other’s eyes and Adora’s were soft, full of an apology, reaching out for some hint of forgiveness from the other girl. “But we’re working on it, I think,” she said and it was almost a question; a question for Catra. She paused breathlessly, biting her lip, while Catra stared unreadably back at her. “Now we’re just, you know, getting to know each other again. Whatever bond we have now is us rebuilding.”

Scorpia saw fit to jump in right then and announce, “You know, I am so proud of you guys and your progress. I just knew Catra would come around. I’ve always known she’s just a big softie on the inside, you know?” She commanded the attention of the rest of the table as she continued, “Have I told you about the time she saved a box of kittens off the side of the road? Or the time we were on a _boat_ together, and she told me I had to keep a five foot radius from her, when before it had been a _ten_ -foot radius, and—”

Her incessant chatter faded into nothing but background noise to Adora and Catra as the two of them watched each other, more feeling than words could ever express passing between them through their gaze. Then Catra cracked a small smile, and so did Adora, and the brunette laughed slightly and dropped her eyes. “I never thought I’d say this, but thank God for Scorpia’s big mouth,” she muttered near Adora’s ear, so the others wouldn’t hear.

“Ditto,” Adora agreed just a bit breathlessly. She was anxious to talk through the past five minutes with Catra, even if she was pretty sure the other girl didn’t hate her all over again for it. She leaned in close to her companion. “Sorry if I said too much.”

Catra lifted one shoulder in a shrug, eyes still downcast. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does!” Adora accidentally spoke too loud before she remembered herself and lowered her voice. “I don’t—don’t want to make you upset. Again. With me.”

“Adora.” Catra sounded stern, but not angry. “It’s fine. Seriously. Things happened. I know from experience that it doesn’t help to just pretend they didn’t.”

“Yeah, I…I know what you mean.” Adora’s own gaze fell to her lap. She’d spent enough time trying that she knew Catra was right.

Adora was roused again by the light nudge of Catra’s leg against hers. When she startled slightly and met her eyes, the blue and gold was sparkling in the dim light. “Plus, getting to know you again hasn’t _completely_ sucked so far,” Catra said lowly.

Adora let out a short, surprised breath and felt herself smile. “You really think so?”

“Yeah.”

“Thanks, Catra.” On a crazy whim, Adora reached out under the table and grasped Catra’s hand. “That means a lot.”

Catra looked a little shocked, but she didn’t waste any time in squeezing Adora’s hand in return. A tiny smile came to life on her face, too.

The moment was broken when a pair of servers arrived at the table with plates of food stacked up their arms. They reluctantly let go in order to help dish out everyone’s meals; mostly seafood except a plate of chicken tenders for Frosta (because of course), a burger for Scorpia, who didn’t like fish, and a vegan pasta salad for Perfuma.

Adora had already dug into her serving of fried shrimp when:

“Adora, Adora!” Bow’s urgent stage-whisper made her jump. “So I know you just had a super serious emotional storytime and I fully respect that you two need time and space to work out everything that has happened and continues to happen between you and I recognize that you just _shook_ everyone here—but, _look!_ ” He pointed over the dark wood half-wall that divided their table from the next row over.

Adora whipped her head around and Bow hissed “Not so fast!” and she tried and failed to turn the rest of the way slowly in redress, but either way she followed the line of Bow’s pointing finger to see that he was indicating a lady sitting at the bar across the room. She was blonde and mid-height and her black tank top was out of place in the fancy restaurant environment, but she seemed not to care. Probably because it allowed her to show off her _freaking massive_ biceps.

“Oh my gosh,” Adora murmured to herself.

Bow took this as a good sign. “You ought to go talk to her,” he pressed with a waggle of his eyebrows. Then he flinched when both Catra and Glimmer turned on him with fierce glares.

“That’s terrible advice! What would she say?” Glimmer demanded, barely keeping her voice below a shriek.

Bow scoffed. “Um, ‘hi, I love your arms, may I have them?’” he suggested as if that were a perfectly normal thing to say to someone.

“Well if we’re trying to be as awkward as possible, why say anything at all? Just walk up to her and squeeze one,” Catra put in. Adora hazarded a glance in her direction and saw that her nostrils were flaring with suppressed anger.

Mermista leaned into their conversation with a bored look on her face. “It’s not even a big deal. Adora’s arms basically look like that anyway,” she said.

Adora had no idea what to do in this situation. She looked uncomfortably between Bow and Mermista, trying to avoid earning the glares of the others, and stammered awkwardly, “Thanks, guys, that’s…that’s sweet.”

“So are you going to do it?” Bow asked excitedly, oblivious to Glimmer’s look of betrayal.

“No!” Adora cried.

“Why not?” asked Catra, her voice dry and sarcastic and probing.

Adora looked at her sharply. Catra’s line _you never did have too much faith in me_ popped into her head, and she had to deliberately fight the urge to say it. Instead she set her jaw and let heat creep into her eyes as she stared Catra down and said, “I…I have more important things I’d rather do.”

Glimmer broke in with a snort, deliberately looking away from them with eyebrows raised. She seemed intensely focused on picking apart her salmon with her fork all of a sudden. “I think you mean _people_ you’d rather do,” she said, only pretending to try to keep her voice down.

Her comment spurred an eruption of protests from around the table, including a “Whoaaa,” from Seamista, a scolding “Glimmer!” from Bow, a typical “What?” from Perfuma, and a very heated “Shut it!” from Catra, who was turning quite, quite red.

Adora just closed her mouth, which had fallen open, and bowed her head to avoid looking at anyone. “I…you know, I’m not really hungry anymore,” she admitted, hiding her own furious flush. “Does anyone want some of my shrimp?”

“I do!” Sea Hawk volunteered, and then squeaked when Mermista elbowed him in the ribs and shook her head.

Bow made an indignant sound. “Glimmer! Look what you did,” he said, waving a hand at the humiliated Adora. “She _needed_ that protein!”

Glimmer threw up her own hands in self-defense. “Sorry! I was joking,” she protested. “They just make it too easy when they’re so—”

Bow’s very reprimanding and very dadlike expression made her voice die in her throat. Glimmer sighed and slouched in her seat and rolled her eyes, but eventually she gave in. “Ugh, _fine._ Sorry, Adora,” she apologized grudgingly. Then, seeing the blonde’s expression, she reached across the table to squeeze her hand. “Seriously. I didn’t mean it.”

“That’s okay,” said Adora, forcing a smile, but really she did kind of feel betrayed. After all, she’d just spilled her story and her heart to these people and made herself vulnerable and the first thing she got in return was—

She looked away, trying not to feel bitter. Bow and Glimmer were good friends, but sometimes they were just not what she needed. Now was definitely one of those times. She needed…

“Hey,” Catra said softly, bumping Adora with her shoulder to get her attention. “You okay?” Though her cheeks were still pretty flushed in the wake of Glimmer’s remark, the fact that she was checking on Adora meant more to her than anything.

“Yeah! Yeah,” the blonde said, voice a little too chipper, nodding a few too many times.

Catra stared at her, unconvinced. There was something in her eyes that Adora hadn’t had the privilege of seeing very many times, and she thought that maybe it was compassion. “You know if it’s too awkward for me to sit here I—”

“No!” Adora burst out a little too quickly. Then she grimaced and closed her eyes tightly for a second. Opening them again, she tried again: “I mean, no, that’s okay. Please stay.” Her gaze flicked between Catra’s eyes, gold and blue, and tried to soak up every trace of that tender look in them and store it for later because if things kept going how they were going, she wasn’t sure if she’d get another chance to see it again, and— “It’s just that I keep trying really hard to make you—to help you feel valued and instead you just get made fun of more and—”

“I _do_ feel valued,” Catra cut her off gently. Then she showed one canine in a tiny smirk. “I mean, look at those biceps.” She nodded toward the buff lady at the bar. “To have you choose me over them is really flattering,”

“I—really?” Adora let out a noise that was part laugh and part relieved sigh. “Okay. Good.” Then she leaned in earnestly. “Catra, I—”

“Shht.” Catra interrupted her again, this time with a finger on her lips. “No more sappy stuff out of you tonight. You’ve met your quota.”

Adora’s eyes had gone wide and nearly crossed in an effort to look down at Catra’s unexpected finger. “Uh…” she mumbled eloquently, feeling her ears burn with the spread of her blush. Catra was biting her own lip as if holding back a laugh. The sight made Adora indignant and she gathered her thoughts enough to quip, ”No promises.”

Catra released her and turned away. “Ugh. Bleeding heart.”

“So what if I am?”

“So this,” Catra said sharply and launched a kick into Adora’s shin beneath the table. Adora yelped and looked extremely offended and then promptly kicked her back.

Mermista blinked slowly at them. “Are you guys playing _footsies?_ ”

“No!” Adora exclaimed at the same time Catra kicked her again and growled “Maybe!”

“What’s that?” asked Perfuma.

Glimmer put down her fork and let her head fall into her hands. “Perfuma…just eat your pasta,” she said wearily.

Catra scooted down the seat of the booth away from Adora and dragged her plate of red snapper after her, digging into it while holding the blonde’s eyes belligerently. Then she glanced over at Glimmer and something seemed to occur to her, and she changed the subject suddenly: “Hey, so if we’re sharing origin stories tonight…” She waggled her fingers toward Glimmer and Bow. “how about you guys?”

Bow was predictably only too eager to oblige her. He perked up and launched readily into what seemed like a rehearsed retelling of their life stories with an introduction that began with “Ooh! Well, really, funny you should ask.”

The next ten minutes consisted of Bow recounting (with occasional input from Glimmer) how he had secretly joined the Boy Scouts in sixth grade, fallen in love with archery while he was there, and then promptly got busted by his dads when it turned out he hadn’t actually been in study hall the past three weeks like he’d said.

He and Glimmer met in the troop leader’s office waiting to get in trouble with their parents, since Glimmer had gotten caught disguising herself as a boy in order to sneak into the troop and learn survival skills to piss off her overbearing mom.

Their parents had bonded together over how impossible their children were, and Bow and Glimmer had bonded over how impossible their parents were.

Bow held up his knife to his face to pretend it was a mustache as he acted out how George had vented to Angella: “We just can’t keep a handle on him! We send him to school in hopes he’ll realize how enjoyable and important it is that he get an education and pick up the family business when it’s his turn, but now that this has happened how can we ever know where he _actually_ goes during the day?”

So, Glimmer’s mother suggested to him and Lance that they enroll Bow at Mystacor Academy, a feeder school for Bright Moon Prep run by her sister Castaspella. Because, “that way Aunt Casta could at least keep an eye on him till he got to Bright Moon, where my mom could ‘straighten him out,’” Glimmer explained.

Bow laughed. “ _That_ didn’t work.”

“No, indeed,” Glimmer agreed with a fond grin at him that showed all her teeth, “but we’ve been inseparable ever since.”

“Wait, so your mom worked at Bright Moon?” Adora asked. She’d only known Angella while she was the director of Angel’s Care Clinic, where Adora currently interned, but in all honesty it made sense picturing her as a no-nonsense high school teacher.

“She was the principal there until my dad died, and then she took over his clinic and Aunt Casta took over Bright Moon,” Glimmer explained with a small, sorrowful smile. “He named it after her, you know. Angel’s Care.”

“He was a doctor?” Adora asked gently.

Glimmer nodded. “A pediatrician,” she specified proudly. “One of the best. He healed kids who nobody thought would make a recovery. People said he had a magic touch.”

Catra wasn’t even tempted to make a dirty joke about that, which told Adora how hard this was hitting her. Hearing about family lives that didn’t involve constant verbal abuse and torture by overwork usually did that. Adora felt a nasty pang of regret shoot right through her heart, for both Glimmer and Catra. They were all just a bunch of messes, weren’t they?

“He must have been a great dad, then,” Catra said, and she almost succeeded in hiding the bitter edge to her voice.

“Yes. He was,” Glimmer said simply, lowering her eyes to the table. Adora could tell that she had made peace with her dad’s passing, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still a hard topic. She reached across and took Glimmer’s hand comfortingly, and beside her, Bow wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Before anyone could get too mushy, though, Glimmer looked up and her eyes were clear. “Anyway. He’s in a better place now, right? I’ll see him again,” she said. Adora had to admire her optimism. Then Glimmer laughed lightly. “So, long story short, Bow and I got to be friends because we were a couple of delinquents!” she summarized. “Can’t get much better than that.”

“I relate,” mumbled Catra into her plate as she finished the last of her snapper.

Adora grinned over at her. “Hey. We worked out okay, didn’t we?” she asked teasingly, nudging Catra in the ribs, and the brunette let out a little laugh against her will. Then Adora raised her gaze to look between Bow and Glimmer, still smiling. “And so did you two.”

“Awww!” Scorpia was suddenly there and leaning over the table with her arms outstretched as if she could gather them into a hug from where she sat. Instead she just laid her red hands on Adora’s and Glimmer’s shoulders. “My friends are the cutest!”

“Ultimate Pal Squad for the win!” agreed Bow happily, placing his hand on top of hers on Glimmer’s shoulder. Glimmer laughed and leaned into their touch and Adora had to smile at the sentiment and it was just such a perfect moment until—

“The _what?_ ” Catra demanded with her lip curled in disgust.

—but honestly, that just made it better.

***

That night Adora and Catra went crabbing after assuring Perfuma three different times that they were going to just look, not catch, and promising Glimmer that their conquest would not be ending up in her bed. They had walked down to the water’s edge and then followed the beach west halfway to the pier before turning back. There was minimal crab-searching going on as the two enjoyed basking in the atmosphere.

The sun had gone down hours ago, but the air was still pleasant and the water was warm as it washed over their feet and receded and came lapping back again. It splashed up Catra’s ankles and soaked the legs of her sweatpants, but she decided that was a problem for her future self to worry about.

Adora walked a bit ahead of her, her pace more brisk than it needed to be. She was always on a mission, Catra thought. She was always headed somewhere, even when she wasn’t. It was admirable. Right?

Honestly, it gave Catra a stab of something bitter in her chest. It made it easy for her to be left behind. Just like before.

Adora didn't race ahead anymore, though. She didn’t leave Catra in the dust. Instead she glanced over once, her ponytail swinging, and noticed the distance between them. Then she slowed her step to bring her shoulder to shoulder with her companion once more. Their arms brushed. Catra’s heart swelled.

That was just like the way they were now, wasn't it? They were side by side again; together again; Adora had remembered her and reached out to her and now she was here at Panama City Beach with her, their hearts healing as one. Catra didn't even try to fight the feeling anymore: she was _glad_ she'd come. She was glad she'd given Adora a second chance. She looked over at her companion fondly.

In Adora’s far hand was the flashlight. Its little circle of light bobbed gently along in front of them, always a few steps ahead like a dream that remained ever out of reach. It illuminated a lone strip of the shore as they walked, making the sand look ghostly and the scattered shells bone-white. No matter how hard she tried to immerse herself in the scene around her and the presence of the girl beside her, Catra found her gaze pulled back to it before long. It stood out starkly from the natural world. It stole her focus. She didn’t like it.

So she spoke up slightly to be heard over the rustle and lap of the sea beside them. “Do we even need the flashlight?” she asked deliberately. Neither of them were looking too hard for crabs anyway.

“Yeah,” Adora responded, oblivious of the request in her query, “just in case.”

Catra was one part annoyed and one amused. “In case what?”

“In case there’s—I don’t know, something.” The faintly lit silhouette that was Adora shrugged. “A jellyfish. Or broken glass. Or—”

“Turn it off, Adora. It’s plenty bright,” Catra cut her off without much sting.

“But—”

“Off.”

Adora’s sigh was audible over the waves, but she switched the flashlight beam out of existence.

They were thrown into darkness. Except, not really.

The white tops of the waves were the only thing visible out to seaward. But ahead of them, like a path paved through the gloom just for them, the wet sand at the edge of the water shone with light reflected from the beachfront buildings. Deepest blues and mellow oranges ran together like the strokes in a painting, seeming to glow in the dimness. The thin wash of the ocean over it only brightened it again and again in an unpredictable rhythm.

Adora halted suddenly. Catra slowed beside her, squishing her toes absently into the wet sand.

“Oh,” is all the blonde said.

Catra hummed a light laugh, thinking _I told you so_ but loath to break the spell of the moment. She could make out Adora’s profile in the fuzzy glow from the coastline and found herself gazing at those strong features more reverently than at the sea. She had a tiny, tickling urge to reach out and touch them, but instead she just smiled. The warm breeze floating by her and the murmur of the ocean and the cast of the city lights were lulling her into a rare kind of peace. That, or maybe it was just Adora.

The blonde turned to share a smile with her. “You were right,” she said almost breathlessly. Her eyes were hard to see in the near-dark, but they still sparkled. “C’mon.” With that single, familiar phrase she eased them back into motion. Catra was reminded of the countless times in their past she had done the very same thing. It was always 'c’mon, Catra, let’s run' or 'c’mon, Catra, don’t be shy' or 'c’mon, Catra, I’m right beside you.'

Catra had been doing a lot of reminiscing about her past lately. And it wasn't the usual painful details of Shivaun Weaver's crappy orphanage, either. It was all the _good_ things. She'd forgotten so much of the good things. Adora's story over dinner had brought everything rushing back to her, and at first Catra had been overwhelmed by it; afraid of it, but having Adora there beside her the whole time…man, she'd forgotten what it felt like to be whole.

And Adora was right beside her again.

It made her think that maybe, just maybe, they could be okay. Maybe the hurts of their past could be forgiven. Maybe they could be Adora and Catra again, like those children who had faced thick and thin together and still came out the other side laughing and shouting _c’mon_ into their next adventure.

Maybe.

The breeze buffeted her warmly, encouragingly. The ocean whispered to her. The light marked out a path before her and the sand made it secure.

She followed after Adora. The peace of familiarity.

Their shoulders went back to touching as they walked. And then the backs of their hands.

Catra didn’t take a moment to think. The atmosphere and the nostalgia was fogging her brain pleasantly and she didn't even feel a trace of the resistance that she'd forced into herself over the past year. She just took a deep draw of the night air into her lungs, ventured out her little finger, and caught Adora’s gently.

There was a breathless pause full of the rush of the sea and the sift of the sand. Adora’s step hitched ever so slightly and Catra thought maybe she was going to stop again, but she didn’t. She walked closer to Catra, sliding her own pinky more securely around the other’s.

Adora was right beside her again.

The silence lasted even after Catra’s tension drained away and was replaced by warmth and solace. She thought they may make it all the way back to their section of the beach before either of them spoke.

Then Adora said, “So, like a date, then.”

Catra groaned, but she was smiling so hard her cheeks twinged, and she could hear Adora’s own answering smile in her words. “Why do you ruin everything?” she griped.

Adora laughed, and her palm slid against Catra’s and their fingers laced. “Can’t help it.”

_God, it feels so good._

***

They reached the access path between the beach and their condo and made their way up the boardwalk, shaking sand from their feet. Neither had brought shoes. It made Adora anxious to leave them by the path while they went down to the water, but Catra hated carrying them around, so they compromised and went without. The damp sand still clung to their soles as they traversed the pavement.

They had to let each other’s hands drop as they climbed the steps onto the pool deck, nearing the rear entrance to the building. It was a silent agreement that they were not ready to give their friends anything more to gossip about. Not yet, anyway.

“When are the others expecting us back?” Catra asked as they passed by the dark silhouettes of the poolside lounge chairs.

“I didn’t say.” Adora sounded a bit pleased with herself, as if that had been a remarkable feat.

Catra took full advantage of that fact. “Oh, gosh, Adora, you mean you managed to do something without making color-coded flashcards first?” she gasped, staring.

Adora whipped her head to face Catra indignantly, protesting, “Hey! I can be spontaneous.”

The brunette stopped short and crossed her arms. “BS.”

Adora came to a halt as well, rounding on her companion. The weak orange lights from the nearby entrance illuminated the offended pout on her face. “We’re here now, aren’t we?” She spread her hands, presumably gesturing to the pool deck. As if it weren’t just a shortcut to get to the elevators.

“Pfft,” Catra scoffed, “How do I know you weren’t planning this in your head all day?”

“I—that’s not—that doesn’t count!”

“Adora,” Catra patronized, stepped languidly forward to confront the blonde. Adora backed up, frowning. She was only a stride from the pool. “You want to see spontaneous? I’ll give you spontaneous.” A flash of mischief entered Catra’s two-toned eyes. “Let’s go for a swim.”

Adora’s eyes widened. “But we don’t have—”

She didn’t get to finish. She yelped as Catra lunged forward and got her hands round Adora’s waist, only to give her a mighty shove backwards toward the water.

She stumbled for one step, two, and then the ground dropped out from beneath her.

Her gasp was cut off as she hit the water rear-first and plunged gracelessly under.

When she splashed to the surface, spluttering and fuming, the first thing she heard was Catra’s laugh. She was straight-up cackling, letting the sound bubble unbidden from her throat. For all Adora’s effort to be angry at her, she just couldn’t hold onto the feeling. The water was warm, anyway, and with her feet on the bottom Adora stood safely head and chest out of the water. Though she would have liked to avoid soaking her clothes and bra, things could have been worse.

But Catra wasn’t done. As Adora waded to the edge, the brunette knelt down on the tiles beside the water and leaned over it, still laughing. “You should have seen your face,” she cried. “You were like ‘ahhh, noo! Betrayal!’” She devolved into another fit of laughter as she acted out that exchange dramatically, ending up in a heap on her side.

“Come on, Catra,” Adora said sourly, trying to hold back a smile, “we’d better—”

Catra had sprung up and planted a kiss on her cheek before Adora knew what was happening. Her words died and she stared at her friend openmouthed, hand frozen half on its way to raking back her hair. Her chest seemed constricted. “Wh—?”

Catra sat back on her heels. Her eyes were wide and just unsure enough to give Adora a flood of warmth, and an idea. A wicked idea. A spontaneous idea. An idea that seemed like the inevitable pop of the bubbles that had been boiling within her with increasing intensity this whole trip, every time she shared a look with Catra or touched her or even sat near her. It was the culmination of feelings she just couldn’t fight down anymore—not after what Catra had just done.

Her cheek was still tingling.

Adora broke out of her reverie quick enough to surge forward and grasp Catra by the front of her shirt, lean up, and land her own kiss—right on the mouth.

She barely had time to register the cushion of Catra’s lips against hers before she broke away with a _smack_ —

—and yanked her into the water.

Catra came up practically yowling. “Agh!” she spat, shaking her head vigorously and spraying water all over Adora. Her shoulders were tight and hiked to her ears in extreme discomfort as she plucked her shirt from her chest and watched it snap back wetly. Then she scowled at Adora, who was taking her turn to laugh. “You cheated!”

“You cheated first!” Adora cried, lunging backwards away from her companion as she grabbed for her angrily. She stroked through the water to keep her distance as Catra stomped sluggishly after her, her threatening image ruined somewhat by the fact that she looked like a drowned feline.

“I did not!” she retorted, still trying her darndest to look furious. “You asked for it.”

Adora’s back hit the side of the pool and she planted her feet and stood up. “I remember no such thing.” Her eyes were sparkling with mirth in the light from underwater as she watched Catra approach, flexing her hands with their clawlike nails.

“Spontaneous, remember?” the brunette reminded her, flicking a droplet of water at her from one black tip.

Adora blinked against the spray and argued, “That didn’t mean shove me into the pool!” Catra had reached her, and Adora now stood a couple inches taller, dashing what was left of her intimidating façade. She smiled flirtatiously, adding, “Plus, anyway, I think I proved you wrong. I can be spontaneous.”

“Did not!” Catra lifted her chin and narrowed her eyes. She was blushing. “You just copied me.”

“Did not,” Adora echoed. Her smile turned quieter, more intimate. Her heart was pounding and it was hard to swallow and she knew that she and Catra were arriving at a turning point in their relationship. It's what they'd been heading toward this whole time, whether they chose to see it or not. It had been growing since they were kids and now…now they finally had the chance to _do_ something about it. Heartened by that thought, Adora pushed off the wall and suddenly caught Catra in her arms, lifting her off her feet. “I arrived at that idea all on my own.”

Catra instinctively clung to her shoulders in surprise, bringing them inches apart. Her eyes had gone round. She had to clear her throat twice before managing, “I guess I could believe that,” and even then her voice was hoarse. She bit her lip before adding, “It’s not such a bad one, either.” A grin of her own began flickering tentatively to life.

“Is that a compliment?” the blonde murmured, tilting her head to bring their lips close again. For real this time.

Catra’s breath caught as she realized that her feet still weren’t touching the ground. Adora was supporting her, holding her completely to her body. The thing was, Catra didn’t mind. She was watching the other girl’s mouth. Her fingers came up to twine in damp blonde hair, and her legs did the same around Adora’s hips. “Depends on whether you want it to be.”

Adora hummed softly, so close that Catra could feel her breath on her lips. Her arms were wrapping tighter around her waist. “I think I do,” she admitted.

For a moment they hovered, nervous, an inch apart. Neither breathed. Neither could believe that this was even _real,_ that it was _happening_ —and then Catra burst out laughing. And then Adora did too, and suddenly they weren’t scared anymore, because this was _them_ and they’d known all along that they belonged together, one way or another.

“About time, stupid,” Catra whispered fondly.

They leaned in at the same time.

***

“What the heck?” Frosta mumbled to herself. She pushed the quarters into the slot with her thumb one at a time: one, two, three, four. But her gaze was cast surreptitiously sideways out the glass doors to the pool deck. Two figures that looked suspiciously like Adora and Catra were tangled up in the pool, suspiciously close together, looking suspiciously like they were maybe kissing. A lot.

“Gross,” she commented. That sentiment was the same whether the offenders were Catra and Adora or not, and whether Catra had been oddly nice to her the other day or not. Kissing was gross. Actually, touching was gross. Feelings in general were gross.

The machine rumbled and clacked and before long a grape Fanta came tumbling out into the tray at the bottom. Frosta bent down and retrieved it, sighing as the cold can cut through the oppressive Florida heat all around her.

Prize secured, Frosta turned her attention back to the pool people. Was that really them? No way, right? She thought Catra and Adora hated each other. Or, at least Catra hated Adora. That much was clear. Maybe it wasn’t them, then.

She couldn’t see all that well from where she stood in the lobby, so she pressed her back to the stucco wall and crept closer toward the glass doors, slowly so the automatic sensor wouldn’t see her. Once there she leaned close to the glass, cupping her free hand around her eyes to block out the ambient light.

That was definitely two girls. One was definitely blonde. The other was definitely scary.

It had to be them.

“Holy crap,” Frosta exclaimed quietly. She looked conspiratorially at her Fanta and said to it, “What do I even do with this knowledge? Sell it? Keep it for blackmail?” She looked back out the door and squinted at the unsuspecting couple.

“There is serious tea in need of spilling.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I hear a 'finally'?
> 
> Also, bicep lady is real.  
> file:///C:/Users/nanny/Downloads/buff1.pdf


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hold onto your butts

Adora woke up thinking, _Ow._

She wasn’t doing anything but lying there, but her whole lower back and thigh and glute area felt wickedly sore. Her legs were stiff when she tried to move them and her vertebrae felt as though they were grinding together, so she quickly gave up any hopes of getting out of bed right now. Which was fine, except she had to pee.

She groaned and squeezed her eyes shut tighter as her brain rose a little further into consciousness, just enough that it would take a while to doze off again. Just enough that she had to feel her aching body in full clarity.

 _Why_ was she so sore? She hadn’t done any heavy lifting or strenuous exercise. She’d been pretty active on the beach but no more than her usual quota. She hadn’t been doing anything oddly taxing, just—

 _Ohh yeah._ She hadn’t thought busting her butt trying to skimboard a few times would make her suffer like this. The thigh pain at least made sense after her unexpected split off of Catra’s longboard, but that was _days_ ago.

She rolled her eyes and sighed through her nose, eyes still closed. It was fine. Not like anything was ever convenient.

She still had to pee.

The nagging pressure under her belly was bad enough that she decided to give movement another try. She took a deep breath, clenched her sore muscles, raised up on her elbow to push herself out from under the sheets and—

_Oh._

So, she’d forgotten that she and Catra had shared a bed last night.

A pleasantly surprised smile tugged at her lips as the memory surfaced in her groggy mind and she rolled onto her back to look down at a sleeping Catra, who was face-down except for her head nestled against Adora’s shoulder.

They’d come in from the beach (and the pool, but that part felt like a secret) shortly before twelve and most of the others were asleep. The only one up was Entrapta, who was camped out on the couch where Perfuma had apparently succumbed to sleep earlier than she’d intended, her legs sprawled across Entrapta’s lap. The techie hadn’t even noticed them come in, absorbed as she was in whatever video was flickering across her iPad screen, so Adora and Catra had stolen to their room hastily, dripping pool water onto the nylon carpet.

After that was a blur of quiet cleaning up in the sink, searching in the dark for clean clothes (Glimmer had stolen all of Catra’s underwear, so she now wore a pair of boxers that Adora for some reason owned), and arguing over sleeping arrangements—Catra _obviously_ couldn’t share a bed with Adora because that was gross, but she obviously couldn’t use the couch because it was occupied and she also couldn’t sneak past Entrapta to the balcony to usurp Perfuma’s eno. They’d gone back and forth in a whispered argument until Adora lost patience and kissed her and suddenly Catra remembered that she was in fact quite tired and maybe sleeping with Adora wouldn’t be so awful after all.

So they bundled into bed and Catra totally did _not_ start cuddling Adora as soon as she fell asleep, but somehow that’s where they ended up presently.

Adora gazed down at her companion in the gentle morning light that came from between the vertical blinds (it was bright enough that she figured the others would be awake by now). Catra was breathing softly and steadily, cheek mashed into the gap between their pillows, one hand clasped loosely around Adora’s near wrist. Her hair looked like a lion’s mane as it tumbled across the sheets, unkempt. She probably hadn’t combed it after rinsing it out in the sink.

On a silly whim Adora reached out with her free hand and ran a light fingertip over the freckles sprayed across Catra’s nose. They weren’t terribly numerous or dark, but they were enough to be noticeable, if one were close enough to look. Adora, for one, was close enough to even find a little batch of them shaped vaguely like the Leo constellation, and the discovery felt as if she’d been trusted with a precious secret. She bit her lip as she traced it carefully, reverently.

Despite her gentleness, Catra’s nose wrinkled at her touch and the slender girl began to stir, turning onto her back and shifting her arms up over her head. A sleepy hum almost like a purr escaped her throat as she stretched in the golden morning sunlight. Adora watched the tan strip of skin that peeked out from beneath her tank top when she moved. Then jewel eyes cracked open and slid over to land on Adora, and a drowsy smirk curled modest lips.

“Enjoying the view?” Catra rasped smugly. Man, awake for three seconds and she was already wisecracking. What an obnoxious little prick.

Adora chuckled fondly in her throat and leaned down to feather a kiss onto her forehead. “Don’t flatter yourself.”

After last night, they weren’t exactly _together,_ but there was definitely a long-held wall between them that had crumbled down mightily. They weren’t hiding their feelings from each other anymore, and although they weren’t totally sure what those feelings _were,_ they felt comfortable enough in each other to figure it out together. So as long as no one else was around to see, Adora had no qualms about a little affection. Catra, apparently, agreed, because her answering grin was like the sunrise itself.

I could get used to this, Adora thought; waking up beside her best friend-again on lazy summer mornings, like they used to when they were kids. Then she scolded herself for that thought. They were better, she explained to herself, but not quite ready for that.

Her brain reminded her that she had to pee.

“I’ll be right back,” she said to Catra, who sighed as the blonde slipped out of bed and crossed to the door, limping quite torturedly.

“What’s wrong with you?” Catra asked after her, but Adora just held up a finger for her to wait.

“Just a second,” she whispered back. “Really gotta pee.”

It was two minutes before she came back into the room, the echo of a toilet flush following her till she pushed the door back to. She was wincing as she hobbled back toward the mattress.

“Seriously, what the heck?” Catra mumbled as she eyed Adora’s gait.

Adora reached the bed and sat down with a sigh of relief. She looked sideways at Catra, wary of being teased or even tormented for her delicate state. “I’m…sore,” she said vaguely.

Catra looked confused and then slightly concerned and then her eyes widened. “Wait, you mean like from beach stuff, right, because I don’t remember—”

“Yes! Beach stuff!” Adora cut her off hastily. “We didn’t—there wasn’t—” She cleared her throat and tucked her stray bangs behind her ear, feeling a flush rising. “It’s just from falling on my butt the other day.”

“Right.” Catra looked fairly relieved. Then her expression melted back into one of smug suggestivity and she rolled over onto her belly to prop her head on one hand, smiling sweetly. “Well, I could always give you a massage.”

 _On my butt._ Ah, yeah, the blush was getting worse now. Adora forced her voice indignant and retorted, “Yeah, right. You’d just scratch me on purpose,” even though she was kind of subconsciously thinking _yes, please,_ and that realization made her feel ever so sinful and embarrassed.

“No I wouldn’t. I’m actually really good,” Catra said with complete honesty for once. That made things even worse for Adora, who really needed an excuse to tell her no.

The blonde snorted and deflected by asking, “Did you learn that at your fancy nail spa?”

Catra huffed and grabbed a pillow to swat her with it. “It’s a _nail_ spa, not a _spa_ spa, stupid,” she growled. Then she placed her head back on both hands, making her cheeks squish, and the Leo mark was suddenly doing yoga. “It was actually one of the girls who works there. Myia,” she shared.

“So then the answer is yes!” Adora cried.

“You’re literally so annoying.”

“ _You’re_ annoying!” Adora turned around and launched herself onto the bed to tackle Catra (gently), dissolving into a fit of giggles when the brunette effectively escaped her hold and pushed her onto her back. Catra took hold of a pillow again and reared back to hit her with it. Adora raised her legs to shove her away but then yelped in pain and abandoned the effort, rubbing her butt and scowling.

Catra saw and let out a laugh, tossing the pillow aside and instead reaching for Adora with bare hands. “Come here, you stubborn brat. Let me try.”

“No!” Adora fought as Catra grabbed her hips and manhandled her onto her belly, but her protesting muscles were an extreme hindrance and the wiry brunette was stronger than she looked. “You can’t help anyway,” she insisted, “The worst part is right on my— _ah._ ”

“Here?” Catra queried, her sharp-nailed fingers having dug into Adora’s lower back. Apparently Catra was aware that she’d guessed right, because she ground her hands down harder. With them she kneaded the knotted swells and curves of Adora’s muscles, drawing out pangs of deep, satisfying pain that relaxed afterward into a more manageable ache.

Adora twitched under each skillful press of her fingers, groaning against the mingled pain and pleasure. Before she could register what she was doing she’d mumbled out, “Lower,” and Catra’s sharp laugh filled the room.

“So, you were saying?” she teased, shifting so that she was sitting on the backs of Adora’s legs and she could drag her hands down to the athlete’s glutes.

Adora remembered with a start that she was supposed to be resisting and abruptly snapped, “I was _saying_ —” Then her coherent thought absolutely scattered. Catra’s knuckles had driven into the tops of her biggest muscles and the first wave of pain took her breath away, but after that her motions were infuriatingly soothing. It was humiliating how much it affected Adora. “— _s-stop,_ Catra, god!” she gasped, her fists clenching around the bedsheets.

Catra didn’t stop. She leaned over Adora as she worked so that her face came just behind the blonde’s shoulder. Adora could practically see the wicked grin on her lips as she purred, “But it’s working, isn’t it?”

Adora swallowed down a moan against a particularly cathartic grind of Catra’s thumbs. “Nngh—not the point!” She tried to twist to glare at her over her shoulder. “Haven’t you ever heard of this little thing called _consent?_ ”

Catra hissed to shush her. “Could you quiet down? People are going to think—”

“What, that you’re _groping_ me? How silly of them!” Adora shot back a little too loud. Catra’s hand went to slap over her mouth and Adora scowled, valiantly fighting the urge to lick it.

“I am _not_ groping you,” Catra whispered fiercely by her ear, although her other fingers were still definitely buried in Adora’s butt muscles. Then she sat back on Adora’s thighs and released her, instead gesturing matter-of-factly. “This is basically a medical procedure. You should know all about that.” Then she showed one canine in a smirk. “Plus, you asked.”

Adora fumed, blushing at that last statement. “I very much know that this is _not_ —”

A sharp knock at the door made them both jump embarrassingly hard. A whispered curse escaped Catra’s lips, but Adora pretended not to notice. “Go,” she urged lowly instead, nudging the brunette with her hips.

Catra jerked off of her, away from her touch and the responsibility. “You go!” she hissed back, “They’re _your_ friends!”

They didn’t have time to argue. Adora heaved an impatient sigh and propelled herself out from under Catra and onto her feet in one quick motion. As she crossed to the door, Adora noted unwillingly that her gait _might_ have been much easier than before, but she wasn’t about to admit that to Catra.

Then fresh anxiety hit her like a punch in the chest. The knock was probably bad news. _I told you to keep it down!_ she could basically hear Catra thinking at her back. Adora winced. She’d _said_ to stop! Catra hadn’t listened, and now they were probably in trouble with Mermista and her dad for being too loud.

As if on cue, Mermista’s drawling voice came muffled through the door. “Uh, guys, could we please keep it PG in there?” As Adora opened the door a generous crack, her words became louder and clearer: “My dad would _really_ hate to have to replace all the sheets.”

Adora was a step behind. The sheets? “What?” She stared into Mermista’s nonplussed face, trying to deduce her meaning from her expression, but the swimmer looked as impassive as usual. Behind her Adora heard Catra smack herself on the forehead and willfully ignored it.

Mermista glanced into the room and apparently spotted Catra lounging on the bed. “Well _that’s_ awkward,” she observed, going into a massive eye roll to avoid eye contact with either of them.

“What do you mean, PG?” Adora repeated, a nagging dread building up in her chest. She’d realized the answer now, but she was loath to imply anything other than her innocence, so she kept her mouth shut. Stupid Catra!

Mermista apparently didn’t want to broach the subject either. “Uh, ask Frosta,” she deflected, backing away with her palms raised. “I am _not_ getting into whatever’s going on here.”

“Frosta?” Adora echoed, now completely lost. What did Frosta have to do with anything? But Mermista was already walking away.

“Way to throw me under the bus, Mermista!” came Frosta’s whine from somewhere in the common room. Footsteps padded on the tiles leading to Adora’s bedroom, and soon the youngster herself appeared. She looked down the hall in both directions with furtive dark eyes before beckoning Adora closer. When she leaned down, Frosta whispered, “I saw you guys.”

Adora felt anxiety crash through her like ice in her bloodstream, as it were. “Saw us—?”

Frosta leaned against the doorframe, raising one eyebrow. “In the pool?”

“Oh. Oh!” Adora’s heart went to her toes. Her first instinct was to deny it, but obviously that wouldn’t work because Frosta had already seen. _Crap!_ Was this it? Was their delicate secret already coming out into the full brunt of her friends' blinding sunlight? Would Catra be angry? Blame her? Adora still hadn’t answered and she was floundering. “That, uh, that was—that was just—we’re not—” she swallowed hard on a dry throat. “All PG here!”

“Mm-hm.”

Adora bent down to plead with the girl quietly, desperately: “Frosta, please don’t tell anyone. We’re not ready to—” She glanced back toward Catra and saw her wary, warning eyes. “We’re still figuring things out. If everyone knew, well—” She grimaced. “Bow and Glimmer aren’t the best at being subtle.”

Frosta nodded as if that were understandable. Then she crossed her arms, businesslike. “What’ll you pay me for it?”

“What?” Adora whisper-shrieked.

Frota rolled her eyes. “I’m blackmailing you,” she said flatly. “What will you give me for withholding the information from the others?”

Adora opened and closed her mouth several times without making a sound. “I—well, I—we don’t really have any—I don’t get paid until the end of July, so—” She broke off when she realized that Frosta was cracking up. “What?”

“Chill out, Adora, I’m joking,” the girl burst out, still laughing at Adora’s shellshocked expression. “Catra already kind of did me a favor by helping when, you know…” She shrugged awkwardly and looked away, and Adora realized she meant the period thing. “So we’ll call it even.”

“Oh, my gosh, thanks, Frosta!” Adora gushed as relief flooded through her to replace the crippling anxiety. Then she deflated. She fussed with her hair and admitted shyly, “I’m sorry you saw. I feel so bad. We had no idea anyone was around, or we wouldn't've—”

“Yeah, yeah.” Frosta flapped her hand dismissively. “It’s a good thing my innocence has already been ruined by anime.”

She had already turned away to rejoin the others by the time Adora managed a shrill, “What?” But honestly, Adora confessed to herself, she didn’t want to know.

Once Frosta had gone and they were alone for sure, Adora turned back to face the room and leaned her shoulder against the doorframe, breathing a long sigh. Catra was sitting on the edge of the bed with one leg dangling and one bent up to her chest. She looked worried as she studied Adora’s face.

“What did she say?” she questioned. “I only heard a little.”

“Well,” Adora began, drawing a deep, centering breath before rushing on: “Frosta saw us last night at the pool, somehow, but she agreed not to tell anyone about it until we were ready.”

Catra’s jewel eyes were wide. “And you trust that little gremlin?” she demanded. Her clawlike nails were digging into her bare knee. Adora crossed the room and took hold of her hands, gently pulling them away from leaving divots in her skin.

“Honestly, yeah,” she answered before Catra could get more agitated, tracing her thumbs over tan knobby knuckles. “Frosta’s kind of difficult, but she said she owes you one after the other day.”

Catra scoffed. “Just ‘cause I told her how a tampon works?” She sounded bitter, but she didn’t pull out of Adora’s grasp.

“Guess so.” Adora wiggled Catra’s hands encouragingly. “Hey, it could be worse. Glimmer could have been the one to see us,” she reminded.

Another scoff, but this time it was full of humor instead of incredulity. “Got me there,” Catra admitted. Then there was a pause and the brunette bit her lip, staring at their joined hands. “Adora,” she started hesitantly after a moment.

“Yeah?”

“It’s not that I’m ashamed of—of us. You know that, right?” Her gemstone eyes flickered up and they were so unsure and vulnerable and raw that Adora felt a rush of protectiveness that she knew Catra wouldn’t want. “It’s just your friends,” she murmured, casting them down again. “And…stuff.”

“Yeah,” replied Adora softly. She perfectly understood _stuff._ Or, more accurately, she knew perfectly well that she didn’t understand _stuff_ at all but that she and Catra were together in that uncertainty. They weren’t sure what they were doing, but doing it together was good enough for right now. Sharing Catra’s gaze now, she felt that they were pretty well communicating that thought. Adora leaned in and kissed her forehead. “It’s okay.”

Catra groaned shortly and Adora pulled back, wondering what she’d done wrong until the brunette lifted her chin and claimed a kiss on the lips instead. When they released each other Adora gasped slightly and then felt a smile growing to life. It answered Catra’s own grin.

“You’d better be careful. With our luck, next time it _will_ be Glimmer standing there watching,” Adora teased, returning her fingertips to the Leo constellation next to Catra’s nose.

“I’ll take my chances,” Catra shot back and leaned up a second time.

***

“So, bad news, guys,” Bow announced with a grimace as he popped his head into the Keston common room, where its occupants currently lounged, Catra, Scorpia, and Entrapta on the couch; Adora and Perfuma getting breakfast. “No beach today.” He glanced toward the sliding glass door that led to the balcony, which was spotted with rain. “Unless you want to get very wet and cold.”

Catra jumped right on that with a toothy smirk. “One of those things doesn’t sound too bad,” she drawled. She refused to pass up a chance to make Adora flustered, ever.

“But Catra, you hate the cold!” Scorpia exclaimed.

Adora laughed as Catra’s suggestive expression melted into one of disillusionment, and the brunette bristled at her. “Shut up.”

The rest of the Bright Moon crowd gradually began trickling into their room then. Catra’s scowl shifted from Adora to their preppy faces as they came and made themselves at home as if they owned the place (well, technically Mermista kind of did, but Catra didn’t have to like that either). She may have learned to tolerate most of these losers over the course of the past few days, but that didn’t mean she wanted them barging into her room first thing in the morning. Especially once Frosta entered, noticed the rain beginning to fall harder outside their door and ran over to pull it open, declaring “Finally!” and letting a huge gust of chilly wind into the comfort of the room.

“Hey!” Catra shrieked and rolled off the couch to intercept her.

“Ugh, you _like_ this weather?” Mermista groaned, sitting down at the dining table while Catra tried to wrestle the door handle out of Frosta’s grasp. When Frosta shot her a pointed look over her shoulder, Mermista seemed to remember the whole _frost_ thing and nodded slowly. “Riiight.”

Frosta’s momentary distraction allowed Catra to wrangle the door closed, to her great dismay. “Ugh, you suck,” she groaned at the taller girl. Catra snarled at her and she backed off, retreating sullenly to the armchair by the door.

Perfuma came over from the kitchen to place a soothing hand on her shoulder, gripping her flowy overshirt around her against the remnants of the cool wind. “Rainy weather is just as beautiful as sunshine!” she defended the young girl. Her dreamy smile turned just a little bit forced as she watched a fresh spatter of rain assault the glass, however. “In principle.”

“Wow, even Flower Girl is secretly bummed,” Catra observed dryly, leaning against the door to peer out at the ocean. The waves were gentle and green, and the rain made little pockmarks in the surface of the water, giving it the appearance of patterned glass. She grudgingly acknowledged to herself how Perfuma might find it pretty, even though it still kind of sucked.

“Rain is a necessary biological function of the ecosystem,” Entrapta put in helpfully from her place tucked into the corner of the couch. “Without it, flora would wither and die, and in turn _we_ would wither and die!”

Mermista looked at her with dead brown eyes. “Okay, that’s great, but what are we supposed to _do,_ ” she queried sourly.

Sea Hawk leaned leisurely on the dining table, conveniently bringing himself into his girlfriend’s line of sight. “I couldn’t help but notice that your father has a boat with a covered top—”

“No!” she cut him off forcefully. They’d already seen how well _that_ would work out.

Catra cleared her throat and walked over to lean her hip against the armrest of the couch. “I hear there’s a place down the road that has laser tag,” she said offhandedly, very casually inspecting her long nails.

“That is also an excellent plan!” Sea Hawk perked up excitedly.

As much as Catra tried to act casual, Adora knew her too well to miss much. “You _hear?_ ” she questioned incredulously, leaning against the wall to face her companion, a bowl of health nut yogurt in hand. Catra couldn’t decide if she hated or loved the way Adora had one eyebrow cocked and one side of her mouth crooked in a smirk. “From where?”

Hated, she told herself. Totally hated. She crossed her arms defensively and frowned in the opposite direction of Adora’s knowing look. “I saw it,” she stated shortly. “The other day, when you pansies were shopping.”

That infuriating half-smile didn’t waver from the blonde’s face. “I seem to remember you being part of that activity,” she pointed out, literally pointing with her spoon.

“I was _window_ shopping,” Catra scoffed, offended.

“You literally bought something, Catra.”

Bow cleared his throat before the two of them could start clawing at each other’s throats (or aggressively making out, because who really knew?). “So where is said laser tag place?” he asked, keeping his tone light and nonjudgmental.

“Pier Park. In one of the squares,” Catra said, throwing Adora one last dirty look.

Glimmer picked up on Bow’s attempt to keep the peace and joined in. “Entrapta, can you look that up and see if they’re open? That sounds like a _great_ way to spend our drizzly afternoon,” she said pointedly.

“Everyone in favor of checking out laser tag?” Bow questioned graciously, spreading his hands to all in the room. When he received a general murmur of assent, he grinned widely, showing off perfect white teeth. “A majority!”

“It’s open from 11am to 10pm,” Entrapta informed them.

Bow checked his wrist, realized he didn’t wear a watch, and then glanced at the clock on the DVD player beneath the TV. “It’s only about 10 right now,” he discovered. “Should we plan to go in an hour?”

“Yeah!” Scorpia voted enthusiastically at the same time Sea Hawk hollered, “Adventure!” Mermista winced and plugged the ear closest to him.

Glimmer giggled at them and announced, “It’s settled, then. Until then we can—”

“Watch Star Trek!” Entrapta crowed abruptly, pointing to the TV with her half-disemboweled remote control. Indeed, she’d somehow gained access to BBC America and a marathon of Star Trek: Voyager episodes were currently lined up on mute.

“Oh,” said Glimmer less-than-enthusiastically, wrinkling her nose, “I guess we could do that. Although it’s definitely not as good as Star Wars.” She exchanged knowing glances with Adora and Sea Hawk, who nodded in agreement.

“Star Wars is definitely cooler, but I can deal with Star Trek, too,” Adora said graciously, always eager to please. She leaned forward and squinted at the episode description: something about macroviruses.

“Ugh, who cares?” groaned Mermista, propping her legs up on Sea Hawk’s lap once he’d taken the dining chair beside her. “They’re both lame.”

Sea Hawk gave her a look of genuine bewilderment. “Didn’t you tell me The Empire Strikes Back is one of your favorite—”

“Ummm, what are you talking about,” Mermista cut him off, her voice bored but her look rife with warning which Sea Hawk completely missed.

“I distinctly remember—”

“Shut _up,_ Sea Hawk!” She aimed a kick at his face, which he barely dodged with a yelp of “Hey!”

“They both sound lovely!” Perfuma interrupted brightly, in the same easy way that Bow had when trying to keep their friends from injuring each other. It may as well be an official class at Bright Moon, the way this friend group operated. Then her smiling face went smilingly blank. “What are they?”

“Oh, you’d like them; they’re really cool,” Bow promised. “They’re both space-themed, but one’s more science-y and one’s more action-y and, well, I’m sure Entrapta would be able to explain it better—”

“Indeed I can!” Entrapta agreed, apparently taking that as a go-ahead to actually _do_ so, which Bow’s slight look of terror indicated he somehow hadn’t expected, although Perfuma seemed not to mind. She went to sit on the carpet with her back against the couch and craned her neck to humor Entrapta as the mad genius began to relate in detail: “While both are space-western style adventure stories with themes of moral decision-making and epic good vs. evil conflict, Star Wars has a monopoly on the genre of space fantasy, especially in major movie form, and Star Trek is a deeper and more scientifically accurate depiction of future organized space exploration, but its scope is largely limited to television. Personally I prefer Star Trek for its attention to detail and actual scientific principles, but—”

“Hey, let’s let the lady watch, Entrapta,” Scorpia broke in gently with that kind smile of hers. “That way she can see for herself how good it is!”

Entrapta wasn’t offended in the slightest. “Okay!” she assented, and lifted the remote control with both hands to unmute the television. Captain Janeway’s intense voice and the sound of phasers firing was suddenly filling the room.

As Entrapta and Perfuma quickly became absorbed in the show (Entrapta murmuring explanations to her companion as it progressed), Catra leaned over the back of the couch and slapped Scorpia’s shoulder lightly to get her attention. “Have you ever even watched Star Trek before?” she asked once Scorpia had turned.

“Nope!” Scorpia confessed happily, “but I will certainly pretend that I have in order to be a supportive friend.”

Catra’s eyebrows raised. Scorpia’s overflowing generosity still never failed to amaze her, even though she’d been its prime victim for a year. “That’s…really sweet, Scorpia,” she observed, and the big girl perked up instantly.

“Aww, Wildcat, you’re making me blush,” she said, rubbing at her neck modestly, the way she did.

Catra wanted to smile, but she had a reputation to uphold, so she hid it by screwing up her face and complaining, “Ew, stop.”

Scorpia didn’t accept that at all. “Wanna share the blanket?” she offered, grinning, holding up a corner of it to demonstrate.

Catra made a show of sighing and grumbling and rolling her eyes before she did finally crawl over the back of the couch and curl up under the proffered section of the throw blanket. It smelled a little like Scorpia, who smelled a little like the Prostakovs’ house, which smelled a little like an odd mixture of smoke and coconut, but Catra didn’t mind. It was familiar. She snuggled up in it like a cat in a convenient box and settled in to watch Star Trek, which she cared nothing about but would deign to suffer through for Entrapta’s sake. She was just nice to her friends like that.

That thought made her suddenly remember Adora—or, well, called her to the front of her mind, since Catra never really stopped thinking about her—and she glanced up to where the blonde still stood against the wall.

She was already looking at Catra with a dumb, gentle smile on her face, and Catra stuck her tongue out at her out of principle. Then she raised the free side of the blanket to her as Scorpia had just done, and that smile grew.

Adora put her emptied yogurt bowl into the sink and then crossed the room to plop down her muscly rear into the space on the couch beside Catra, accepting the corner of the blanket. Catra may have incidentally kept her arm around her once she was situated. Adora may have incidentally leaned her head on Catra’s shoulder, too, but who was really paying attention? Not Catra. Definitely not Catra.

In any case, she was definitely not paying a whole lot of attention to Star Trek.

***

“I have an idea,” announced Glimmer, turning to face the rest of them as they stood in line at Emerald Coast Mirror Maze & Laser Craze, waiting for their turn to enter the arena. There was a sparkle of mischief in her eyes and a matching smirk on her lips. “I think we should shake things up and pit friend against friend!”

The company’s reaction ranged everywhere from concerningly enthusiastic (“Now this should be interesting,” Frosta commented, flashing her own rare grin) to supremely horrified (“Nooo, I couldn’t bear to fight my Super Pals!” Scorpia cried). Glimmer placed her hands on her hips and faced the storm nonchalantly. She was definitely her mother’s daughter.

“You’re not actually fighting them, Scorpia, it’s just a game,” she reminded the other girl without much sympathy.

“I know, but that doesn’t make it any easier on my heart!” Scorpia moaned, clutching aforementioned heart with both hands as if it physically hurt.

“Fine, Scorpia, you can stay on our team,” Catra allowed with a sigh, “but I am _definitely_ getting to pound Adora into the ground, and that’s final.”

“Oh, the feeling is mutual,” Adora returned with a wicked smile.

“You guys are _really_ not helping that whole ‘extreme sexual tension’ situation I keep getting in trouble for pointing out!” Glimmer hissed at them.

“Glimmer!” Bow scolded, because of course he’d overheard. Catra snickered at the look on the puffball’s face as Bow dragged her manually away from the two of them. “All right,” he said firmly once they were situated, “teams. We already have Catra versus Adora—”

“As usual,” Glimmer grumbled.

“—me versus Glimmer,” Bow continued pointedly, and the shorter girl stuck her tongue out at him.

“Me versus Sea Hawk,” Mermista said with more than a little satisfaction as her boyfriend protested and complained at her feet.

“Does this mean I have to oppose Perfuma, since she’s my most meaningful counterpart?” Entrapta asked loudly, and more than a few of them gasped.

Scorpia was the first to cry, “Awww!” and hug both of them uncomfortably hard. “My friends are finding meaningful counterpart-ships with each other!” Perfuma blushed madly as Scorpia crushed her and Entrapta close against her, but Entrapta was just grinning obliviously.

“That’s one way to do it,” observed Glimmer with a helpless chuckle.

Bow’s hands were clasped beneath his chin like a doting mother hen and he was absolutely unashamed of it. “That was so awkward but really beautiful,” he squeaked out, his voice cracking.

“Yeah, great, so now you guys have to demolish each other in a laser battle,” Catra said flatly, bent on ruining the moment.

Adora nudged her with her shoulder. “Hey, that can be romantic,” she insisted with a little smile that made Catra blush as well and look away, frowning. Leave it to Adora to sabotage her ‘cool-and-unfeeling’ façade in front of everyone.

Not that she actually minded.

Bow took a deep breath and seemed to recover from his apparent cuteness overload. “Now,” he said, “That leaves Scorpia and Frosta, and since Scorpia wants to be on the same team as her Super Pals, Frosta, you’ll go with Perfuma’s team. Cool?”

“Cool,” replied Frosta, grinning at his word choice—or maybe the chance to shoot her friends with lasers, because who really knew?

Just then, the operator stepped out of the curtained-off partition where she’d been double-checking the equipment and beckoned them inside, and the tomfoolery began.

Things were definitely shaken up, to say the least.

In the first thirty seconds of the match, Entrapta pulled apart her laser pistol and rejiggered it in a way that somehow allowed her to shoot rapid-fire scatter shots, which would have given her team an enormous advantage had she been any good at actually firing the weapon. She spent most of her time hiding behind Scorpia and shouting random sci-fi references like “beam me up, Scotty!” and “it’s game over, man!” that were in no way relevant to the situation.

“It’s her coping mechanism, okay?” Scorpia explained to Catra when the wildcat gave her a look that said _what the flying—?_

Catra herself would not stop viciously targeting Adora, and Adora, for her part, did a good job of avoiding her like the plague. Nearly the exact same situation played out between Mermista and Sea Hawk, except Sea Hawk was way less adept at not being shot.

“Why are all of my ships so _problematic?_ ” Frosta yelled at nobody in particular as a screaming Sea Hawk ran to hide behind her.

“Your what?” Catra paused briefly in her chase to demand.

“You didn’t know?” Entrapta said cheerfully as she rolled by like a ninja, pigtails spinning wildly in the air, not noticing Frosta desperately waving her off. “She’s been writing fanfictions about you!”

“ _What?_ ” Catra shrieked. Her vest powered down as someone (Adora) shot her while she was distracted, and she barely noticed.

Frosta flinched away, holding up her hands innocently. “I plead the fifth!”

“No, you little twerp, you’re about to tell me _exactly_ what is going on here or I swear I’ll— _stop_ shooting me, Adora!” she stopped to holler as she got nailed with a laser _again._

“You snooze, you lose!” the blonde’s voice carried from behind one of the barricades on the other side of the arena.

Catra bared her teeth and swiftly stepped behind an obstacle, crouching to get out of her line of fire, and during the short time that she was occupied Frosta took the opportunity to scramble away. “Frosta—seriously?” Catra hissed after her, but she couldn’t give chase while the game was still on. Not when she had bigger fish to fry. Because she wasn’t about to let Adora beat her this time.

Once Frosta had escaped Catra’s wrath for the time being, she ran to duck behind Perfuma, who had turned out to be a force to be reckoned with. Though she still had great qualms about violating her strict non-violence ideologies, she mostly assuaged them by yelling “Don’t make me hurt you!” across the arena while at the same absolutely crushing everyone on the opposing team.

Bow and Glimmer’s showdown was the most evenly matched after Catra and Adora. Bow was an amazing shot, thanks to all his clandestine archery training, but Glimmer seemed to be just as good at avoiding his fire as he was at dishing it out. She navigated the obstacles so fast she seemed to appear and disappear in the space in between, and even Bow had a hard time landing any hits. He shot down her teammates in the meantime, though, to make up the difference.

In the end, they were tied. Perfectly, inexplicably, frustratingly tied.

This is, until they got back into the equipment room and Catra snuck an underhanded shot at Adora’s back, which powered down her vest and put her team up by a single hit.

“Hey!” protested Adora, whipping around to face her, “You can’t do that! That’s cheating!”

Catra shrugged lazily and pretended to blow the smoke from the barrel of her laser gun. “Oh, Adora,” she drawled, flashing both canines in a sleazy smile, “you know nothing’s too low for me.”

“Aaaugh!” Adora growled ferociously and as soon as their equipment was safely hung on the waiting racks, she lunged at Catra and bowled her over and the two devolved into a wrestling match on the floor.

The poor operator wasn’t sure how exactly to handle that.

She turned the scores back to represent a tie, though.

***

It was still raining that evening. In fact, it had begun to thunder and lightning along with it, and thus the sky was prematurely dark over the ocean, clouds black and roiling. The air was saturated with the noises of nature; the low roar of the ocean, the patter of the rain, the crack and rumble of the thunder.

All ten of the new graduates (plus Frosta) were gathered on their joint balcony overlooking the ocean, breathing in the night air and the smell of ozone. The wind gusted sheets of rain their way at regular intervals, but the drops and the breeze were both pleasantly warm and none of them minded that much; not even Catra. They were too content in themselves and each other for that, sitting quietly in reverence of the atmosphere.

There was one outdoor table on the balcony, which seated four, and Seamista, Frosta and Glimmer had claimed it promptly, leaving the rest to find their own seats. Perfuma hung in her eno, Bow and Adora had borrowed a couple of Mermista’s low-riding beach chairs, Scorpia sat sprawled on her black towel, and Catra stood at the railing making sure Entrapta didn’t pitch over it to her death. The purple-pigtailed genius had her phone in hand, one tab open to the weather radar, one to her Notes page, and one to the camera feature. She was the only one who refused to sit still. Too busy doing 'firsthand storm research,' she said.

“Blast it,” she muttered without much heat when lightning flashed and she tried to capture a photograph, too late. She leaned out over the balcony as if that might give her a better chance. Catra grabbed the back of her lilac overalls cautiously.

“Due to the frequency and concentration of the strikes, there should be a likelihood of over sixty percent that I succeed in photographing at least a single strike, but it’s just not working!” Entrapta vented in the first hint of frustration she’d ever shown over a scientific endeavor. “Perhaps if I simply hold down the button until I happen upon success…”

Catra reached out a hand for the phone, tired of watching the girl struggle. “Let me try,” she offered, “I’ve got quick hands.” A predictable sultry smirk accompanied that comment, but it was more out of habit than any real intent.

Entrapta passed the phone over with an absent appeal to handle it carefully and then drifted over to where Scorpia sat to take a break. “I don’t understand it,” she murmured. “Maybe I just need a little more time.”

“Don’t you worry, Entrapta,” Scorpia reassured her with a smile. “Lab assistant Catra’s got your back.” She patted the techie’s shoulder lightly and shot Catra a good-natured wink.

Catra pretended to grumble in sarcastic dissent, but really she didn’t mind. She liked a challenge, even if it meant she had to stand here where rain was plopping against her forearms and making her hair frizz out furiously despite her attempt to tie it back. Plus, Adora was watching her with that silly gentle smile of hers, and there was no way Catra was about to give her a reason to stop.

So she hung out over the balcony, cradling Entrapta’s iPhone X carefully in both hands, determined to make a little headway in this precious ‘storm research’ of hers. The storm was still going strong out over the ocean. Though the rain wasn’t falling particularly heavily, the flickers of lightning and frequent rolls of thunder implied a much greater force of nature. Catra liked to think that she was entering a battle with nature itself in order to steal an image of its fury. It made her task sound much cooler.

A big streak of lightning flashed down, and she hit Entrapta’s camera button as fast as she could. No dice—just a picture of the afterglow over the ocean. She resituated her grip on the phone and buckled down to try again.

It was a couple of minutes before another strike lit the ocean for a brief second, but Catra was ready. She attacked the camera button and checked immediately to see if she’d gotten a good picture. She groaned when it only turned out to be a couple specks of light; the tail end of the strike.

“No luck, ‘lab assistant Catra?’” Glimmer piped up from the table. Catra gave her a sour look, but upon scrutinizing the girl she found that Glimmer wasn’t really being mean; just teasing. Her brows relaxed.

“Don’t count me out yet,” she shot back and turned to the railing again. The tips of her ears burned in pleased self-consciousness as she felt Adora’s gaze follow her. This would be the one, she thought. She could do this.

_I am speed._

No, that’s stupid. _I am Iron Man._

No, that’s copyrighted. _I’m Catra and I said so._

There, that was good.

She narrowed her eyes at the stormy ocean, thumb hovering over the fateful little camera button.

She waited. And waited. Her shoulders were getting sore from holding up the phone.

The rain fell, but the sky stayed dark.

Then she felt a tingle along her spine and a sudden tension in her muscles and— _wham,_ she hit the button just as _crrrick!_ —a lighting bolt struck.

She knew she had it before she even tapped into Entrapta’s camera roll and laid eyes on the photo. Her heart felt like it had been struck by its own personal tendril of electricity, and maybe that was a sign of a heart attack but right now she was too _freaking excited_ to care.

“Adora, Adora, Adora!” she cried in what was almost a squeal, throwing the hand with the phone triumphantly over her head and waving it. She spun away from the railing to face her friends with a smile that rivaled the forces of nature itself.

“Be careful!” Entrapta squawked, extending a hand toward the precariously positioned phone, but Catra hardly noticed.

She was more focused on Adora’s reaction. “What!” the blonde responded in the same high-pitched tone of excitement Catra had used, and she was mocking but there was a grin on her face too.

Catra came and jumped onto the armrests of her beach chair, which protested loudly, so she was crouching over Adora’s lap. “I got one!” she crowed happily and turned the phone so Adora could see. There was a picture-perfect image of a jagged lightning bolt arcing across the screen, burning white against a dark blue sky.

“That’s cool,” Adora acknowledged, and the crooked smile on her face said that she was being deliberately understated just to rile Catra up even more.

It worked. “ _Cool?_ ” demanded Catra in the tone of a scandal, hunching over Adora to push the phone closer to her face, as if maybe she hadn’t seen. Her eyes were bright in the dimness like points of blue and yellow flame. “It’s freaking amazing! It’s _lightning!_ Do you know how hard it is to capture that? You heard what Entrapta said!”

Adora held up her hands in surrender, laughing herself breathless. “All right, Catra—that’s freaking amazing and I’m so proud of you and your superhuman reflexes!” she praised with the same level of excitement as Catra’s rant, reaching up to squish Catra’s cheeks like she was a lovable toddler. “Go take some more!”

Catra wrinkled her nose and shied away but she was laughing too and Adora’s touch made her skin feel hot and fuzzy even if it was just teasing, and she was still crouched over the blonde’s chair and her face was so _close_ and she wanted to—

“A _hem,_ ” Glimmer’s loud interjection made them both jerk away as if burned.

Catra looked up to find that literally everyone else was staring at them, and the warmth in her cheeks turned into an inferno.

“What?” she demanded, trying to sit back on her haunches so she wasn’t so close to Adora. It didn’t help that Adora’s hands had come to rest on the sides of her legs now, steadying her.

“ _Literally_ the most oblivious,” Glimmer said not for the first time, her hands pressed to her forehead in consternation but a laugh on her lips.

Before either of them could pretend not to know what she meant (—well, Catra would have pretended. Adora was probably actually clueless), Bow chuckled too and shook his head. “I’m gonna say it,” he announced, straightening up in his chair to face them, “I think we all doubted you at first, but you guys are seriously the cutest.”

“What do you mean, doubted us?” Adora asked, sure enough looking truly confused.

Mermista entered the conversation with a light scoff. “Oh, I don’t know, maybe the whole ‘hating each other’ thing?” she deadpanned. The way she leaned her chin on one fist was the only sign that she was actually interested in what was happening.

“We weren’t sure you’d ever make peace!” Perfuma explained, pulling down the fold of her eno to look at them. She was smiling sagely. “We certainly hoped so, though.”

“And now you’re okay! I’m so proud of my friends,” Scorpia put in.

Catra could practically feel her hackles raising with every additional comment, and she didn’t even have hackles. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Everyone wasn’t supposed to be talking about them. No one was even supposed to know about them. Slowly she eased herself off of Adora’s chair, freeing herself from the blonde’s grasp.

Adora let her hands fall away, looking similarly distressed. “Wait, so you guys were shipping us the whole time?” she asked more in confusion than horror.

“You didn’t get the message from my fanfictions?” Frosta questioned incredulously.

“ _Fanfictions?_ ” Now there was a healthy dose of horror in Adora’s voice. She glanced between the younger girl and Catra, unsure of whether she was joking or not.

Catra shoved down a brief spark of interest—after all, she was curious: _what_ was in those fanfictions?—and twisted her face into a fitting scowl. She straightened up and took a step toward the table where Frosta sat, hands curling into fists. “Right,” she remembered, “I forgot to beat you up over that.” A sharp crack of thunder backed up her words fearsomely, and Frosta actually flinched. Catra felt a touch of satisfaction at that.

“Hey, don’t blame me. The angst practically writes itself,” Frosta protested, holding her palms up innocently.

“There’s no great shortage of fluff, either,” Sea Hawk put in helpfully. Mermista didn’t even elbow him in the ribs like usual—she seemed to be agreeing.

Adora shook her head, at a total loss. “What—what does that even mean?” she asked, her voice, a little too high, betraying her embarrassment. Catra wanted to move closer to reassure her, but at the same time she’d rather leap over the railing than give the Bright Moon goons any more reason to target them.

“It _means_ it’s about _time_ you guys got together,” Glimmer explained, stressing her words like they were slow.

Catra couldn’t fathom how things had gone downhill so fast. Everyone was bombarding her and Adora with sentiment all of a sudden—sentiment she hadn’t even known existed. Had they all really been secretly waiting for them to mend their relationship this whole time? She could picture Scorpia or Bow shipping them, but Sparkles and Frost Face and Seamista? This was a full-scale operation. Someone had to have tipped them off somehow.

And there was only one person who could have done that, Catra realized, thinking of this morning. Figuring her grave was dug already, she zeroed in on Frosta with murder in her eyes and accused, “You said you wouldn't tell!”

“I _didn’t!_ ” the little squirt insisted.

Catra grit her teeth and heard them creak together. She had to be lying! Otherwise—

“Cool it, kitty-cat, nobody told us anything,” Glimmer’s flat voice cut in. Before Catra could retaliate for that embarrassing nickname, the puffball continued, “It’s not like you guys are that subtle.”

“Ever heard of heart eyes?” Mermista added with a hint of smugness in her voice.

Bow made a time-out signal with his hands a few times. “Wait, wait, wait,” he waved down the conversation before it could go any further. Then his soft brown eyes flicked between Adora and Catra deliberately and he asked: “Tell us _what?_ ”

_Crap._

“Nothing,” Adora said quickly. Even in the mostly-dark Catra could see her face turning a healthy shade of red and she felt like sighing in despair. The two of them were some team. Apparently they were destined to take turns digging their hole deeper and deeper until there was no way out.

But Catra kind of already knew that.

“Wait,” Glimmer said, her eyes fairly flashing with intrigue, “did you guys—”

“Engage in sexual activity?” Entrapta finished loudly and _very_ enthusiastically, hopping up to swipe her iPhone from Catra so she could open up her Notes page. Would this be the ‘Catra and Adora’ notes page, or the ‘Not even close to my business’ notes page? Catra wondered bitterly. It was all she could do to keep from swatting her schoolmate in the head.

Perfuma gasped, finally, _finally_ understanding any reference of a sexual nature once it was explicitly stated in scientific terms, just as Catra and Adora both growled “No!” and Scorpia cautioned, “Whoa, buddy, that’s a little, uh, personal, don’t you think?”

Entrapta wasn’t discouraged. “But according to my calculations which began at the outset of this venture—”

“No, no, Entrapta, we didn’t—” Adora managed.

“There wasn’t—” Catra agreed.

“We just—”

 _Adora, no!_ Their friends didn’t need _any_ more gossip fuel but she’d just effectively handed them a gallon jug of gasoline. And of course they’d dumped it all right on the flames.

“Oooh!” Bow exclaimed giddily. He practically had a pair of heart eyes of his own going on.

“The truth comes out!” Sea Hawk declared, leaping to his feet, naturally.

Mermista chuckled shortly, actually smiling for once. “That’s not the _only_ thing coming out,” she observed wryly.

“Catradora is canon!” Frosta celebrated.

Glimmer cut right to the chase. “You just _what?_ ”

“Nothing!” Adora protested, too late.

This was too freaking much. They had all of Bright Moon breathing down their necks and there was little to no chance of them letting up unless—

“We kissed, okay?” Catra burst out.

Everything seemed to freeze.

Everyone was staring at her, and she stared at Adora, afraid of what she might have just done.

But her fear didn’t get a chance to take root. When she looked at Adora, there was no trace of anger or embarrassment or even betrayal on her face. Instead, her expression was one of pleasant surprise. Her eyes were wide with the shock of hearing Catra admit to the truth, but at the same time they were practically glowing with warmth.

She’d just revealed their relationship to all their friends. The realization hit Catra in the gut like a punch.

And Adora seemed happy about it?

Catra felt her brow furrow in confusion and her lips parted to ask a question that never came. Adora seemed to understand her query, though, and let a small smile crack her own face. It said _I’m proud of you._

Even if she had pretty much been strongarmed into a confession by Glimmer and the others, Adora was proud of her. No— _especially_ because she had.

It would have been so easy and natural for Catra to lie and deny everything. It would have been so easy for her to disown Adora like she had so many times before. It would have been so easy to fool everyone into thinking there was nothing between them—after all, she’d been doing it to herself for years.

For her to tell the truth…that meant more than any of the affection they’d shared over the course of this week. That meant she _claimed_ Adora in front of everyone, which meant that she _wanted_ to be with Adora (she hadn’t been too sure of it herself just yet), and the way Adora was smiling at her…

That meant Adora wanted to be with her, too.

Catra felt her chest suddenly swell with some rush of emotion and she gasped with the pressure of it. She felt like she was tingling all over again and this time it wasn’t any electricity in the air, but electricity between her and the girl she’d lost and found again. She felt a grin of her own come to life and—

“There seems to be some sort of nonverbal communication occurring between the two subjects,” Entrapta whispered loudly and distractingly into her phone.

“Shh!” Perfuma quieted her quickly and said, voice dripping with just as much sweet excitement as Catra was feeling, “It’s called harmony!”

Where once Catra may have felt like snarling at the two of them, now she just laughed brightly, easily. “You know?” She kept her eyes on Adora’s and knew the two of them were sharing the same lovestruck look and the thought made warmth keep coursing through her to her core. “Maybe it is.”

“Awww!” Bow practically shrieked in pure adoration. Then a worried look came onto his face and he rushed to say, “We are so sorry for pressuring you guys, it’s just—”

“This is just so exciting, ah!” Glimmer finished his thought happily.

Scorpia reached over and put a hand on Adora’s shoulder, and Catra was mildly impressed that she’d respectfully refrained from going for a hug. “We’ll always support you guys. You know that, right?” she assured.

“Yeah, we don’t tease you to be _mean,_ ” Mermista agreed. “You’d just _never_ get together otherwise.”

Adora somehow went pale and flushed at the same time. “That’s not true!” Catra was concerned she might accidentally give herself an aneurysm in her indignance.

Entrapta cleared her throat. “Actually, I crunched the numbers and it would have taken six months to a year for you two to mend your relationship organically, notwithstanding the possibility of attending different colleges, which would have extended the window to…an astronomical amount of time!” she reported.

“Astronomical?” Catra echoed with an incredulous wince. She would have liked to have given herself a _little_ more credit than that, but Entrapta probably wasn’t wrong. If it weren’t for this trip…

“You _are_ a bit of a special case,” Sea Hawk affirmed.

Catra saw the sparkle in Adora’s eyes before she even made the joke. “Well, one half of us is,” the blonde teased, glancing at her companion.

“See? Adorable!” Glimmer squealed. Then she smiled in satisfaction with herself. “Pun intended.”

Bow laughed uproariously, ever the pun connoisseur. “I am _so_ glad we went on this trip!” he declared, grinning. He waggled his brows at Catradora; “and not just because of you guys, although that is definitely part of it.” Then he rose out of his chair and placed his hands on his hips, looking around appreciatively at all of their company. “I can’t think of any way I’d rather spend my last summer before college.”

“Aww, Bow, same!” Glimmer gushed at the same time Scorpia concurred, “Me neither!”

“How about a group hug for the Ultimate Pal Squad, which I am officially extending to include _all_ of us!” Bow proposed, spreading his arms wide.

This time there was no holding back for Scorpia. “Yeah!” she enthused, jumping up (and rocking the balcony in the process, but that was okay) and gathering the others into the hug that she and Bow endorsed.

The teens of Bright Moon and Keston complied and straggled into a close-knit circle, some more reluctantly than others, and let Scorpia’s arms envelop almost the whole group. “Harmony!” Perfuma triumphed, except so did Entrapta at precisely the same time. The two of them gasped, took one wondering look at each other and then resumed the group hug with renewed vigor, giggling.

Catra was the last one into the circle simply on principle. As she crowded in between Adora and Scorpia and felt their arms come to rest across her shoulders and their heat make her uncomfortable in the summer air, she felt a profound sense of security bloom within her. These were her people. This was her place. Standing there now gathered with them, reaching out with newfound confidence to link Adora’s hand in hers, she figured this was about as happy as she’d ever been.

It was true that maybe she’d never really thought she would ever learn to tolerate the nerds from Bright Moon, or even begin to enjoy a trip to the coast with them. It was true that she’d come here for the sole purpose of getting Adora off her back once and for all. It was true she’d been cynical, sour, difficult and maybe even mean to them for the better part of their acquaintance.

But there in that big, stupid hug right then, she was impossibly glad for the new truth of a second chance.

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter will be a bit of an epilogue (like, 3,000-ish words). It happens later that night and serves to just wrap up the Catradora arc a little more.  
> If you like where this ended, though, chapter 9 is optional.
> 
> Also, the lightning pics are real, if not as picture-perfect as Catra's.  
> file:///C:/Users/nanny/Downloads/lightn.pdf
> 
> And,  
> https://www.deviantart.com/legendgrass/art/Second-Chance-832065180?ga_submit_new=10%3A1582919709


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, this is sort of an epilogue.  
> It's the last night of the trip and our favorite disaster gays have some time to reflect.

Adora swam blearily from the murky depths of unconsciousness into the murkier dimness of her room. Her brain was moving slow and she wasn’t sure why she’d awakened. Her eyes cracked open, but it hardly made a difference. All she could see as she slid her gaze around was the fuzzy deep-gray outline of the window and a vague darker mass that was Scorpia and Entrapta’s bed. Its two occupants were breathing steadily, so neither of them could have woken her. Adora groaned and shifted her stiff limbs. Her feet had grown hot under the sheets so she slid them to a new, cooler place. Her arms…

Her arms were empty, and for some reason that made her concerned. She furrowed her brow and rubbed her fingers against the empty sheets beside her. They were wrinkled. Why was she getting anxious? She swallowed a sour lump in her throat. What was she forgetting?

Her arms, empty.

She gasped.

Catra! 

Where—? Adora pushed herself up on one elbow, wincing as her back ached at the sudden movement. Where was Catra? Last night…she’d asked Catra to stay with her, since there weren’t any appearances to keep up anymore, she remembered with a shy flush of her cheeks. Catra had. So why was the bed empty?

Adora turned over to look on her other side, but Catra was not there either. Her chest was going tight and she whimpered without meaning to. “Catra?”

Could she be in trouble? Could she have snuck out? Was she sick? Angry?

_Don't tell me I've lost her again already._

“Catra,” she said hoarsely into the pressing darkness of the room. The cry was lost as soon as it left her mouth. Her fingers grasped at the empty sheets. Why was she breathing so hard? Where was Catra? What—

A toilet flushed.

A moment passed and then the bathroom door rattled and light footsteps crossed the hallway toward Adora’s room. The door whispered open and a brief bar of light illuminated Catra’s form as she slipped back inside.

Adora let out a long, shuddering sigh of relief.

Catra paused on her way back to the bed. “Adora?” she whispered into the dark, curiously.

“Hi.”

Those padding footsteps brought Catra to Adora’s bedside. The mattress dipped as she sat on the edge. Adora couldn’t see her except the outline of her wild hair. “What’s wrong? Why are you awake?” she asked quietly, reaching out a blind hand for her companion.

Adora rolled so that her shoulder fell under Catra’s searching hand and sighed at the comforting touch. “I—” she faltered, feeling her heart still kick too fast. “You were gone.” Once the words were out she felt silly.

“I was in the bathroom, stupid,” Catra was quick to reinforce her embarrassment. In contrast to her demeaning tone, though, her hand began moving soothingly up and down Adora’s arm. “Is that all?”

“I missed you.”

Catra snorted softly. “It was like two minutes.”

“I…I thought you left,” Adora admitted.

“Oh yeah?” Catra’s hand fell from Adora’s shoulder and for a long moment she was silent. Adora could practically sense her chewing her lower lip. Just when Adora was getting scared that Catra wouldn’t respond, or might even get up and leave, the brunette pulled herself back against the headboard and let out a long, empty sigh. She slid her legs under the sheets and settled in so that her hip was touching Adora. Her two-toned eyes shined briefly in the dark as she looked at her. “So now you know, I guess. What it feels like.”

Maybe it was because her mind was still half-asleep. Maybe it was the cover of darkness or the press of Catra’s leg against her or the changes that had brought them together over the past few days, but something made Adora profoundly vulnerable to those words just then.

What it feels like… 

_To be left behind_ was the fateful end of that statement. A year ago, she’d left. Left Catra. Left her best friend. Left her—her first _love._

The first thing out of her was a sob.

Catra was right. Catra was so, so right and she had every right to be angry at Adora for what she’d done and Adora couldn’t believe she’d just said something so hypocritical without even realizing, after they’d come all this way—

But the truth was they were not fully healed. Not yet.

Maybe now was the time to fix that. “I’m so sorry, Catra,” she blurted, squeezing her eyes shut against stinging tears. Fumbling words poured out of her. “I didn’t mean to—I thought it wouldn’t be so bad. I thought it would be okay as long as—as—” she gulped as if the words were choking her, “as long as we still—” Her hands tightened into fists on Catra’s sweatpants.

“Go back to sleep, Adora,” Catra cut her off gently before she could finish that thought.

How was she being so calm? _Why_ was she being so calm? Calm was not usually one of Catra’s greatest qualities, but the one time she ought to have been furious, there was nothing. She was still watching Adora quietly. 

It made the blonde desperate to fill the silence. Maybe Catra just hadn’t understood. 

“But I—I feel so _bad,_ I—I hurt you and I wish I could take it all back and—”

Catra let out a short hiss of annoyance and suddenly shifted on the bed. Adora was gripped with panic as she assumed the other girl was on her way to sleeping on the couch, and shot out a hand to catch her slender wrist. “Wait!”

But Catra didn’t leave. She lowered herself down onto her elbow, now tucked under the sheets up to her waist, and faced Adora where she lay. She raised the hand that Adora had grabbed and looked at it quizzically until she let go with a sheepish apology. Once free, she reached over and brushed Adora’s cheek, then let her fingers climb into golden hair.

“Listen, Adora,” she said, but then she fell silent, leaving Adora wondering what she was listening for. She didn’t speak again until a sigh had passed her lips. “I don’t hate you anymore. I haven’t for a long time.”

She was stroking Adora’s hair soothingly, separating the locks with her sharp-nailed fingers, lulling the blonde toward sleep again. “I…oh,” Adora mumbled eloquently.

Catra kept talking anyway. “None of what happened can change what we have now. I’ve moved past it and I’m okay now. It just…it sucks that it happened, you know?” She sighed again. “Things sucked. When you left…” Her calming motions paused. “You were my best friend, and…and then you weren’t. It hurt.”

“I’m sorry. It didn’t have to be that way. I still wanted—”

Catra shushed her, beginning to play with her hair again. Her body pressed against Adora’s and her face was close in the blur of the night-shrouded room. Adora thought she could see those catlike, two-colored eyes glinting like silver and gold. “I know. I screwed up too,” she admitted. “I was angry; wanted someone to blame. That someone ended up being you, and…” A regretful chuckle. “well, the rest is history, I guess.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, I heard you the first six times.” Catra’s words were harsh, but her voice was anything but. In the silence that followed, she let her hand fall free of Adora’s hair and instead began tracing her features lightly. “Adora,” she murmured while her thumb trailed up the blonde’s cheekbone.

“Yeah?” Adora’s voice was weak from drowsiness.

“We’ve wasted a lot of time.”

“Yeah.”

Catra breathed a laugh as the blonde’s eyes drooped closed. Then she said, “I don’t want to waste any more.”

Adora’s brows furrowed and she found herself clinging to Catra’s shirt with both hands. “Yeah.”

The wildcat wriggled closer and ventured out one foot beneath the sheets, seeking contact. “I haven’t forgiven you. But…I’m working on it,” she told her. Adora sucked in a shaky breath, rousing from her doze as their legs found one another’s and twined. Catra’s thumb drifted to her lips and grazed the tender flesh there. “‘Cause I missed you a lot.”

Adora shuddered as a chill ran through her and her fingers curled further into the fabric of Catra’s shirt. “Me too,” she confessed. Her chest was tight but it wasn’t from anxiety this time. She was losing herself in Catra. Her touch, her faint smell, her gentle words. They breathed in sync and their exhales mixed in the narrow space between them. Their bodies were tangled together and it felt like home.

Catra’s thumb left her lips and instead she rolled to lean over Adora, elbows on either side of her head. Her breath breezed close. “Thanks for making me go on this stupid trip.”

The blonde had her eyes squeezed shut, stomach fluttering, cheeks burning in anticipation. She spread out her fingers to caress Catra’s waist. “Didn’t make you,” she whispered. It’s all her voice would manage.

“Oh, sure,” Catra teased. “You made a pretty tempting deal. If I could keep from enjoying myself for one little week, I’d never have to see you again.”

Adora hummed a laugh. “You lost.”

Catra let out her own gentle sound of mirth. Her hair brushed Adora’s face as she inched closer. “Yeah, princess, I guess I did.” 

A brief, charged pause passed between them, and Adora opened her eyes just long enough to meet that shining silver and gold, and her next breath left her at the weight of the look in them. Catra flashed a just-visible smile and her anxiety dissolved.

As the wildcat leaned in, her eyes fluttered closed again. 

Catra’s lips were hot as they met Adora’s the first time. They were careful, though, leaving room between lingering kisses for Adora to breathe. They pulled and pushed hers in a rhythm like the tides. The blonde wondered numbly how Catra’s mouth could be so sharp with her words but so tender now as it moved against hers.

“Catra,” she mumbled out through tingling lips, but when the brunette pulled back questioningly she found she had nothing else to say. Instead she wrapped her arms tighter around her waist and felt her heart pound as Catra pressed down on top of her. _God, I love you_ was what she was thinking, but that seemed like a lot for the delicate state of their relationship. She leaned up to steal a kiss of her own in place of the words.

As Catra sighed into the touch, her hands went again into Adora’s hair and combed through the shining strands. It took a long moment for them to break apart, Adora sucking gently on her lower lip. Catra caught her breath. “I’m with you now,” she replied with a soft smile.

 _I love you_ rang again in Adora’s mind but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. All she could do was flicker her own smile and feel warmth blossom from her very core as Catra leaned in again.

“Truth or dare,” Catra murmured after she’d planted another thorough kiss.

Adora’s breath hitched. “Truth.”

The brunette’s lips went to graze her cheek, and then her jaw, and then her ear, and Adora shivered violently. Catra let a chuckle float from her throat. “What are you thinking?” she asked.

Adora groaned lightly. “Never mind. I pick dare.”

Catra pressed her mouth to Adora’s pulse and took her time in drawing back to watch her reaction. “No,” she said then, “you can’t change your pick.”

Adora huffed. “You do it all the time.” Catra lowered another kiss to her lips and Adora’s annoyance evaporated. She began thinking maybe telling Catra wouldn’t be such a bad thing. But…it was such a _heavy_ thing. Catra already had all kinds of weight on her shoulders. She could only deal with so much before it was _too_ much. “I…”

Catra leaned back to look into her face, gentle, expectant. The pressure made Adora lose her composure and she let out another frustrated groan, letting her gaze slide away. “I can’t.”

The wildcat shifted, lowering herself to the side, settling next to Adora instead of on top of her. Her legs stayed tangled with the blonde’s and her arm across her midriff. “No, what is it?” she pressed gently. Adora could feel those two-toned eyes intent on her.

“I…” No way. Right? She couldn’t. Catra would back right out of that revelation. Pretend it never happened. Never look at her the same again.

But she wanted to know.

Adora drew a deep, unsteady breath and turned on her side to face her companion. She could barely see her features in the dim. “Are you sure?” she asked softly.

Catra paused. During the silence, her fingers found the edge of Adora’s shirt and absently ventured under to trace spirals on her skin. When she spoke her voice didn’t sound as sure as Adora hoped. “Yeah.”

Another deep breath inflated Adora’s lungs. This was stupid. This was going to end badly. This was where she’d lose her dignity forever. Catra would laugh, and that would be the end of it. Love? she’d scoff. You don’t even know what that is!

But Adora was convinced that she did. It wasn’t so hard a concept when she was lost in Catra’s precious-gemstone eyes and breathing in her woodsy scent and feeling the feather of her fingertips against her skin. It wasn’t so hard when her lips were still feeling staticky from Catra’s kisses and her heart was this warm, this full. Then it didn’t seem stupid at all. It seemed right. So…

“I love you,” she confessed before she lost her nerve, her voice cracking on the words.

Immediate anxiety. Overwhelming dread. 

There was silence, so she cleared her throat and added meekly, “That’s what I was thinking.”

Catra’s fingers were still. Her eyes were unreadable. After a long, torturous moment, she licked her lips and responded, “Oh.”

 _Oh._ Adora could have cried. She might have, almost. _Oh?_ The fateful little word bounced around her head like a playground ball. One of those stupid ones that stung when they hit you. _Oh._ What had she expected? A heartfelt reciprocation? Wake up, Adora. This is a Horde grad we’re talking about!

“I already knew that.”

“ _What?_ ”

“Adora, you’re dumb. Were you really worried I was going to make fun of you or something?” Catra giggled. Her hand slid all the way into Adora’s shirt, pressing comfortingly against the curve of her back. She nuzzled close again.

“That’s what you do with everything else!” Adora cried before she remembered to keep her voice down. Then she whispered fiercely, “You scared the crap out of me!”

Catra gave her a tiny kiss, still laughing. “Sorry,” she answered, but it didn’t sound very sorry.

Adora couldn’t stay angry very well with Catra curled into her body, drowning her in affection, but she sure tried. “I’m about to retract my statement,” she hissed defensively. “You literally suck.”

Catra was humming with laughter. “No, no, don’t! Adora,” She relocated her hands to the front of Adora’s shirt and held it tightly as if to keep her in place. Her eyes were wide and caught the faintest trace of light in the darkness. “I think I love you too, okay?” In the wake of her words, she tucked her head under Adora’s chin, hiding. “It’s just weird because I just stopped hating you but I guess I loved you the whole time and I didn’t know you could love and hate someone at the same time but here we freaking are and it’s like the best thing I’ve ever felt. You’re, like…” She fumbled for words and Adora couldn’t believe that she was hearing Catra falter for once. “You’re like home. And not the orphanage home. Heart home.”

Adora hadn’t realized she was smiling like an idiot. She hugged Catra close to her chest. “Yeah,” she agreed, “I know what you mean.” _I really do._

Because _this_ was home. Catra in her arms, filling her with warmth and comfort and familiarity and everything important she’d been missing since she left, even though her friends from Bright Moon were so _nice,_ because they just weren’t _home._

Catra was.

And now she was here.

Adora bent her neck and pressed a kiss to the top of Catra’s wild head. Her heart was swelling. Yeah, definitely love. She knew Catra would make fun of her for being cheesy, but she grinned and said it anyway: 

“Well, Catra, you’re home.”

***

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading. Liked it? Let me know with a comment.
> 
> This has been my main project this summer and also the quickest full-length story I've ever finished (yay), and I'm pleased with how it turned out.  
> She-Ra's been an obsession of mine since April (late to the scene, I know) and it's kind of become an escape of sorts for me. There's a ton of change going on since it's my last summer before college too, and while my friends and faith and family are all kind of distant right now, I take refuge in the creativity and atmosphere and community of this show and its fanbase (seriously, the She-Ra fanfiction archive is really impressive). Maybe that's not the healthiest, but
> 
> **spoilers ahead kinda**
> 
> anyone who's seen the season 3 trailer witnessed Catra in that _freaking_ leather jacket knows we're already doomed.
> 
> Anyway - cheers, folks. Catch my other Catradora fanfictions here or on FF.net!


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